Where is the Spark?
by BenXGwen Lightning Warrior
Summary: During the events of "Rock Bottom", something is set in motion that will determine the destinies of two unorthodox couples. One couple will be the Key. The other will be Defenders of Primus. Starting in chapter seven will be a PJO AU. Not Crossover.
1. A Strange Dream and a Strange Day

(An ArceexJack and BulkheadxMiko Fanfiction)

Chapter One: A Strange Dream and a Strange Day

Jack Darby jarred awake suddenly in a cold sweat as he sucked down air in fear and shock. _What was that?_ Jack thought to himself as he looked around the room in mild panic. He never had a nightmare so vivid before. Jack ran a hand through his sopping wet hair to smooth it back down and looked at his bed in surprise. The comforter and top sheet where thrown around the bed as if Jack had been fighting in his sleep. As he looked at his messed up bedding, the dream slowly came back to Jack. The young teen was calmly walking around Jasper when he heard a laugh. As the sound rumbled out from its source, the Earth shook. Jack looked around in confusion and felt fear rising in his mind as he looked for the source of the voice, but couldn't find it. "You will be my pawn, boy. You will destroy that cursed Follower of Primus." It was then a rocky form, reminiscent of a Cybertronian, grew from the ground and stared at Jack with purple optics. Jack's brow furrowed in anger and a single word escaped his lips with malice that was not Jack's own. "Unicron…" Jack, or rather the presence in Jack's mind, said. "Let him make his own choice in time." Jack shivered and pushed the dream to the back of his mind for the time being and got ready for his day with the bots.

The raven-haired teen sighed as he walked in the kitchen and saw a note on the counter from his Mom. "I'm working late tonight. I don't know when I'll get home." Jack read to himself. He flinched when he saw a post script in all caps. "DON'T FORGET YOUR VITAMIN!" Jack shook his head with an aggravated sigh and found a bottle of the strange blue pills June made Jack take for as long as he could remember, but she never told him what they were for. Jack found a smile passing his lips as he popped the pill and chased it with a glass of water. Now that he thought about it, Jack noticed the pills looked like Energon caplets. Jack waved the thought away with a chuckle and sighed in happiness as he walked out of the main house into the garage. Jack's smile grew at the sight of Arcee. Jack really enjoyed the rides to base lately more than usual. He gave the thought a mental shrug and swung his leg over her seat with a contented sigh. Jack felt her aggravation and knew something was up. "Before I move an inch, you're going to put on your helmet." Jack got off Arcee and put on his helmet. When the helmet slid into place, Jack gripped Arcee's handlebars lightly, and Arcee sped off toward Omega One.

On the way, Jack couldn't get his dream to stop playing in his mind. Finally, he shook his head vigorously to try and get the dream to go away. Arcee saw how her partner was acting and didn't like it. "Jack," she asked. "What's bothering you?" He smiled at her and waved off the question. "It's nothing Arcee, just a bad flux…dream." Jack corrected himself. _Where did that come from?_ Jack thought to himself in mild confusion as they pulled into the base and dismounted. Jack sighed as he went up to join Raphael and Miko in the human area as Team Prime discussed a recon mission in a thought to be abandoned Decepticon mine because of a small Energon signal. "It is worth the risk, our supplies are running low." Ratchet said grimly as Prime nodded in acknowledgement. Prime was about to speak when he received a message from the Matrix. _The younglings, Jack and Miko, will go with their guardians._ The Matrix told Prime. Optimus looked at his team. "Bulkhead and Arcee, you AND your human charges will go on this mission together." Wide optics stared at Optimus in confusion and shock. "It is The Will of Primus." Optimus said when he saw their looks. That silenced any ready rebuttal the bots had for their leader. "Yes, sir." The femme and Wrecker replied.

Later as Jack walked by Arcee, he couldn't help but notice the worried look on Arcee's faceplate. She stared at the scanner in front of her with little interest. Jack saw the cave and felt a rock land in his stomach. _Damn it!_ Jack thought. _I officially hate mines!_ As they walked farther in, Jack's anxiety only grew. He kept looking at Arcee. She sighed and gripped the scanner in anger. "There's nothing here!" She put a digit to her comm. link. "Bulkhead, come in." Nothing but static came from the other end. "Bulkhead, do you read?!" Arcee's left servo balled into a fist and forcefully placed itself down by her side. "Slag, we're too deep." She complained. Jack didn't know why, but the word "slag" made him blush. Meanwhile, Miko was thoroughly enjoying herself in the cave. "Hello, Cleveland!" She yelled. "Are you ready to rock?!" As the sound of her voice echoed in the massive cavern, Miko smiled to herself. "The sound is great in here!" She told Bulkhead happily. The Wrecker laughed to himself. _Only Miko would find an empty mine fun._ The mech thought as he spotted the source of the weak Energon signal in the form of a small, servo-sized chunk of the blue crystal."That was a waste of time." Bulkhead mumbled as he started to carve out the crystal with his wrecking ball.

In another part of the mine, Starscream and Megatron walked calmly. "Repeated failures, Starscream, that's all you are!" The Decepticon leader roared. Starscream fell on his aft and started crawling backwards in an effort of self-preservation as Megatron's looming form drew ever closer to the Seeker. "I grow tired of failure, Starscream." Megatron said coldly as his red optics blazed with fury and Megatron's arm cannon powered up. The warlord pointed it at Starscream and fired. The Seeker was quick and moved out of the way. The blast struck a vital support and made the cave rumble and shake before the ceiling came down on Megatron and Starscream retreated to the safety of the outside. Only after Starscream started to calm down did the Seeker realize his blunder. With a yell of frustration, Starscream dove back into the pit to rescue the person he hated with a passion just for the sake of the glory the Seeker would receive as a result of the rescue.

As Bulkhead pried the crystal free, the roof came down on them. Miko frantically pulled her head down and prepared to die. When all she fell was a few small pebbles, Miko looked up to see Bulkhead as he held the majority of the rock from falling on Miko. "Don't worry, Miko. I got ya." He told her with a kind smile. She nodded her thanks and smiled warmly at the massive mech. For some odd reason, her smile made Bulkhead's Spark flutter. Elsewhere in the mine, Jack crawled out from under a pile of ruble and dusted himself off. Then, the thought slammed into him like a fist to the face. _I should be dead._ He thought to himself. _Why am I still alive?_ The thought would have to wait because Jack had other priorities at the moment. After walking for what seemed like forever, Jack found a miner's drill. His mind screamed at Jack that there was no way he could hope to operate the alien machine. _I have to try._ Jack thought as he climbed on the device and watched the Cybertronian glyphs turn to English. Jack froze when he saw this. _What the Pit?_ Jack's mind briefly registered before he started the machine and started down the mine tunnel.

Megatron glared at the sound of drilling and cursed. Then, the wall to the opposite of Megatron's view collapsed. Megatron glared at the hole, and his optics widened as he saw one of the Autobot's pet humans in command of the drill. _Those little pests are quite resourceful._ Megatron conceded in his mind. His red optics glinted at the youngling human mech. "Why not use your drill to finish me?" He said with a hint of mirth in his voice. Jack shivered as the dream came to him anew. _Let him make his own choice in time._ The voice repeated. Jack glared at Megatron. "Seize the day," Megatron encouraged. "Optimus would." Jack looked Megatron in the optics which shocked the warlord. Then, with a firm scowl, Jack said, "No. Optimus wouldn't, not like this." With that said, Jack left Megatron even as the warlord threatened Optimus. Megatron's threats made Jack laugh. _If he couldn't offline Optimus all those stellar cycles ago,_ Jack thought to himself. _What changed the outcome now?_

Miko was growing more and more tired as time went on. She had to get them out of here. After trying to move the cave in one rock at a time, Miko was rapidly burning through the limited air she had. "Miko, stop!" Bulkhead ordered as the girl dropped onto a rock and started to feel lightheaded. Then, Bulkhead heard drilling and smiled. "Miko, someone's drilling." Bulkhead told the girl. "Pick up a rock and bang it on my foot." She looked up at him. "I-I don't want to hurt you." Bulkhead smiled. "I'll be ok. Do it." He said with a smile. Miko gave him one final look of fear. Then, she started to do as she was told. Jack's head turned to the sound of banging in the distance, and he smiled as he put the drill in high gear and started off. Unfortunately, Starscream heard the sounds too and started toward them.

Jack sighed as he started to feel stronger for some strange reason. The black-haired teen felt this new strength surge through him and pushed the drill on. Jack shivered when he saw the cave in was partially busted through and punched it. The machine ripped through the rock with ease and slammed into Starscream. As the Seeker was pinned against the wall, Jack glared at him. Miko's eyes and Cybertronian optics went wide at the human. "Jack, your eyes…" Bulkhead mumbled. Jack looked at Mike and held out a hand. "Come on!" Jack ordered. "We can't leave Bulkhead!" Miko yelled as tears streamed down her face. Jack jumped off the machine and sent a pile driver punch at Starscream. The Seeker staggered back. Bulkhead let the ceiling fall, scooped up Jack and Miko, jumped on the drill, and smiled as Starscream was forced to bear the weight of the ceiling or be crushed.

The three were on their way out of the cave when Arcee walked up to the group. Her Spark swelled with relief when she saw Jack was alright, and Jack couldn't help himself. The teen hit the ground and happily hugged Arcee's leg. Miko grinned wildly at the scene and started to sing "K-I-S-S-I-N-G" to herself. Then, she remembered what Jack did just moments before. "You won't believe it, but Jack saved our afts." Arcee gave her a curious look. "He mowed down Screamy. Then, Jack punched the Con so hard Starscream staggered back." Arcee looked at Jack in disbelief. "How…?" The femme trailed off as Jack looked up at her with scared eyes and shook his head as he told them, "I…don't know."

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	2. An Apointment with the Docbot

Chapter Two: An Appointment with the Docbot

Arcee looked at Jack with worry in her optics. "Ratchet," Arcee called as she looked at Jack's eyes. If her optic sensors weren't malfunctioning, Arcee could swear by Primus that Jack's eyes were now blue optics. Jack then let outa tired yawn and started to fall asleep. Arcee wasn't a medic, but she also knew that sleeping was not a good idea for Jack. "Stay awake, Jack." She said as she fought the rising fear in her processor. "We need a Bridge and prepare sickbay." She told the grumpy medic. Ratchet was surprised but agreed. He then opened a Groundbridge. Arcee smiled, picked Jack up, and held him gently in her servo. "Ratchet will fix you right up, Partner." She said. Miko and Bulkhead shared worried glances as they followed the blue femme through the portal.

Ratchet expected to see Bulkhead limping or Arcee clutching an arm. When they both came out of the Bridge fully functional, the medic was a little irritated. "You call for sickbay, and both you and Bulkhead are in perfect health." Ratchet started with a glare until he heard a loud groan from Arcee's servo and looked to see that Jack was twitching and shivering as Arcee held him. Ratchet's optics went wide at the sight. The readout on Ratchet's HUD as he looked at the boy didn't make any sense. The human youngling had as much blood as Energon in his systems. "Bring him over to the berth, quickly!" Ratchet ordered as Arcee complied. "Call June," he also told Arcee. "I may be a medic when it comes to my own kind, but I'm still just a student to human physiology." Arcee nodded. "June," she said. "Jack is ill, and Ratchet needs your help." June's worry was evident when she spoke. "I'll be at the Groundbridge site shortly." She promised.

A few seconds later, June walked through the Bridge and looked at Jack. "Damn you, Alexander." She whispered as she rushed to the berth. She looked at him and gripped Jack's hand. It was then when she felt a chill crawl up her spine. Jack's hands were cold and started to feel metallic even as she held his right hand in fear. Then, she remembered something. "Strap him down! He's going to start thrashing soon." Ratchet nodded and took thick binding straps built for Cybertronians and laid one across Jack. The strap spanned from Jack's next to his ankles but secured Jack against harm. Suddenly, Ratchet's wrist began to alarm. He looked down at it and almost glitched. A new Spark was coming online inside Jack!

Then, Jack started to thrash and scream in pain. "Mom, it hurts!" He screamed as his body started fighting the restraint. June looked at her son with tears in her eyes as she brushed his hair and tried to soothe him. "I know it does, honey. Just hang on. It will be over soon." She said as she noticed Arcee. The femme looked like she was barely holding it together. Arcee slowly walked over, and Energon tears fell from the femme's optics as she laid her helm on the strap. The tears fell on his body, and Jack's skin seemed to draw it in. Then, Jack stopped moving. Everything stopped. There was the sound of popping as bones popped and cracked. Then, Jack's body started to burn with an Energon flame. Once the body was consumed, a blue glowing orb floated above the pile of ash that was now Jack's body. Arcee glared at the newly minted Spark. "You leave me, Jackson Daniel Darby, and I will come to the Well and drag your aft back!" Arcee said as she blinked away the remaining tears. Jack's Spark seemed to shiver at those words. Then, it floated away.

All was quiet in the base; even Miko buried her head in Bulkhead's ped and began to cry. Raphael looked at Bumblebee in shock. June silently sobbed to herself. Arcee glared at June. Optimus, who was silently watching the entire thing, knew that Jack's Spark was too bound to his Carrier and Arcee to go to the Well so quickly and more likely left to search for a form. The Prime knew grief and knew it well, so he walked over to June and knelt. "Ms. Darby…" June looked up at the Prime. Prime gave her a gentle smile and lowered his servo. Once she was safely onboard, Optimus lifted her to optic level. "How did Jack come to be this way?" Optimus asked. "My ex-husband Alexander…" She bristled with anger at the name, and Optimus knew she hated the man. "...worked for a government agency that was experimenting with what we now know is Energon." She looked at the others as all in attendance turned toward the woman. "The doctor is right. In high doses, Energon is lethal to humans, but in micro doses, it's a mutagen to humans. Alexander secretly gave Jack Energon, and by the time I found out what he was doing, Jack's body had already become dependent on the Energon to be at full health. Without these Energon doses, Jack would become very sickly, so I kept giving them to him." She choked back a sob. "I never knew this would happen!" Prime brought the grieving mother to his chest plate because of an odd urge and let her. _Jackson, please hurry back._ Optimus thought to himself.

Jack's Spark flew along the road as it searched for a suitable host. When it found one, the Spark melted into the driver's seat. The car, a '66 cherry red Ford Fairlane, shook and was swallowed in blue light. The light remained for a few seconds as the car's frame and body were modified accordingly. As the light faded, the sound of a T-cog and metal shifting filled the surrounding air. Then, Jack blinked his optics and looked down at his peds. "I'm online?!" He shouted in triumphant surprise. Then, the young mech's faceplate grew downcast. "Everyone probably thinks I'm dead." He said with a sad sigh. _If only I knew how to-_. Before Jack could finish the thought, his new body shifted into its alternate mode. The change in point of view was a little bit of a shock, but once Jack's Spark calmed down, he formed his holoform which sported a massive grin and shot off toward Omega One. "Let's see what I can really do!" Jack said as he opened up his throttle and felt the acceleration take hold of him.

Back at Omega One, an unknown Spark signature winked online at Ratchet's terminal. "Blast it." The medic groaned as he glared at the screen. Arcee walked up to the view of the local area. A neutral life signal was roaring toward the base. Arcee felt a small glimmer of hope rise in her but quickly doused it and told herself it was the grief talking. Then, she saw a squad of scouting Vehicons on a heading to collide with the Neutral. Optimus knew that the "Neutral" Cybertronian was Jack, so he said, "Autobots, roll out! We must defend this newcomer!" All helms nodded, and immediately, four vehicles took the place of four bots. June walked up to Optimus' truck and gave him a small smile. "Pease, be careful, Optimus, and thank you." With those words, June walked away from Optimus, and he led the Autobots out on an intercept mission.

Jack was about twenty miles away from Omega One when he spotted the drones. Then, Jack drifted into an about face and charged the oncoming Decepticons. Jack couldn't resist grinning as he turned one into a ramp, transformed, and landed on his peds with a surprising amount of grace. "You want to dace, 'cons? Let's dance!" With that, Jack lowered his helm and started trading paint with the drones. The drones weren't expecting this from a Neutral. "You tin cans won't keep me from my family!" Jack roared as he started ripping fistfuls of wiring out of the drones. When the last one fell, Jack looked up to see all the Autobots, minus Ratchet coming to investigate him. _Better late than never_ , Jack thought before he saw Arcee and felt his cooling fans activate as worry gripped the young mech. _How am I going to explain this to them?_ Jack thought as Optimus walked up to him. Arcee felt her Spark start to jump in her chest as she and the newcomer's optics met. "J-Jack?" She asked quietly as Bee and Bulkhead shared confused looks. Jack sighed and nodded. Bumblebee glitched while Bulkhead just stared at the red mech in shock. Jack felt a hard slap connect with his faceplate and looked into the burning optics of Arcee. "I thought you were dead!" She said in something that was a cross between a yell and a sob. Jack put a servo on her face and gently kissed her. As they parted, Jack smiled at the femme. "I couldn't leave you or Mom alone." He told her gently. Then, his faceplate blanched. _This is going to be the Pit._ He thought.

Back at Omega One, June did exactly what he expected. She rung his neck verbally and then hugged his ped tight. "I…I'm just glad you're not dead." She said finally after she stopped crying. Jack smiled and picked his Mom up. "It's going to take more than a side effect of prolonged Energon exposure to take me down." He told her kindly before he set her back down on the ground and walked over to waiting medical berth so Ratchet could give him the once over. After a few normal tests, Ratchet suddenly stopped and stared between Jack and the results of the latest test in shock.

"You can produce your own Energon over time like your organic body could produce its own blood!" Bee piped up, and Jack was momentarily surprised when he could understand the Scout. "(That's impossible. Isn't it?)" Prime shook his head at Bumblebee. "No, it is not. It is a trait unique to the Primes. Primus created us as completely self-sustaining, down to Energon production by our frames. This ability was lost by successive generations because Primus provided a limitless supply as Cybertron's core." June's face turned ashen. "Could Jack be used as an Energon farm by the Decepticons?" Optimus nodded grimly. Then, he turned to Jack. "You must be vigilant. The Decepticons will find out about your transformation at some point in time, but to keep that from happening for as long as possible, you must be cautious, and I would advise use of a Cybertronian alias." Jack nodded and considered the leader's words for a long moment. Then, he looked up at the Optimus and said, "Yes, sir. You can call me…" He thought for a moment more. "…Roadburner."

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	3. Talks

Chapter Three: Talks

Arcee looked at Roadburner with a smile. She couldn't help it as her optics trailed down the new Cybertronian's thick red plating. In some ways, he was more built than Optimus which made Arcee's cooling systems have to work overtime. He had broad shoulders and powerful arms. His legs were built like pillars and taken all together…the thought of him touching her brought on buried desires. Her processor caught up with itself, and Arcee forced herself to look away from the mech. Roadburner suddenly had a look of fear in his optics and reached out for her as he looked at her retreating form. Without a word, the femme transformed and shot out of the base. Roadburner wanted to chase after her, but a firm servo on the young mech's shoulder stopped him. Optimus' voice was kind but firm. "This is a lot of change for one day," Optimus explained. "Give her some time, young mech." Roadburner nodded. "I'll be up top if anyone needs me." Out of habit, the new mech started to go to the human elevator but stopped when he heard snickering. "Right…" the mech mumbled as he turned around and took the freight elevator to the top.

Once he was gone, the rest of Team Prime dispersed. Optimus and Ratchet went off to their quarters and workstation. June smiled and climbed up the platform with a little trouble, so she could get a look at what Ratchet was working on. She smiled at the medic. "What are you working on, doctor?" She asked as she looked at the device in curiosity. Ratchet was surprised, and it showed when he spoke. "Well…I'm working on a new type a personal shielding technology. Far too advanced-" The woman cut him off as she started tinkering in a device half her size. "Uh…Ratchet?" She asked as she continued to work as if she were tending to a patient on a hospital bed. He looked at her in acknowledgement. "It might work better if the energy dispersal unit was connected to the Energon battery." As she told him that, June connected the two. After she got out of the guts of the device, Ratchet flipped a switch. The portable shield generator shrank and slid onto June's wrist. Ratchet fell back in shock. His arms flailed out, and a servo knocked June off the desk. She fell eighteen feet and screamed. All optics in the room turned to see June coated in yellow energy. She stood up and looked at Ratchet who towered over her. As the energy dissipated, June looked up at Ratchet's worried expression. "I think you might call that a successful test." She said as Ratchet vented in relief. June was about to walk away when she looked around. "Where are Bulkhead and Miko?" The woman wondered aloud.

Miko was hulled up in a quiet area as the girl's normally screaming iPod appeared silent as it played "Hallelujah" softly in the ear buds. Miko's normally loud voice sang quietly. "I heard there was a secret cord that David played and it pleased the Lord, but you don't really care for music. Do ya?" Her right hand slowly moved with the music and rose higher with the emotion as she continued to sing. Bulkhead leaned his head in to listen and was surprised to find Miko started to cry as she continued. Soon, the song was lost in sobs. The girl put her head in her hands and shook as tears came. With her no longer trying to stop, the tears flowed from Miko's eyes and streaked her cheeks. Bulkhead stared in shock at what his optics were relaying back to his processor. Bulkhead's optics narrowed. _Whoever broke her is gonna pay!_ The Wreaker thought in anger as he felt a strange sensation in his Spark and walked over to the crying Asian teen.

The girl heard him and looked up. "H-Hey, Bulk." She said as she tried to put on a happy smile, but her tearsruined the attempt to fool the big green bot. "What's wrong?" He asked as he reached over with a large digit and brushed her tears away with a surprising amount of gentleness. "It's something Starscream said earlier today," she told him. _I'll turn that 'con into a Lobbing Ball!_ Bulkhead thought as Miko continued to speak. "When he said, 'You like playing with the big robots. Don't you?', a thought struck me. I started to wonder what I would do without you." She looked at him, got up, walked over to the Wreaker, and hugged his ped. "You're the only one I've got, Bulkhead." Bulkhead blinked in confusion at her. "What about your host parents?" Miko looked up at him and for the first time, Bulkhead realized Miko hid behind the loud music and equally loud personality because of trouble at home when he saw the glint of fear in her eyes at the mention of her host parents. Then, he saw freshly healed scars on her arms. _How could they do that to her?!_ Bulkhead growled mentally as he smiled at her.

Miko noticed where Bulkhead's gaze fell and tried to cover the scars in fear of what Bulkhead would do. "Miko, come on. Talk to me." Bulkhead said gently as he lowered a servo and brought her to optic level. She took a deep breath, and her shoulders slumped as the girl finally let go of her guard and nodded at Bulkhead as her lips quivered. "Alright, my real parents PAID to get rid of me!" Bulkhead's Energon boiled in his tubes when he heard that, but Miko wasn't done. "Only the outside looks nice. They are beasts!" She trembled in his servo and began to cry fresh tears. She opened her mouth to speak further, but Bulkhead couldn't stand to watch any longer.

Bulkhead rang Fowler on his comm. "Fowler, we have a situation." Bulkhead growled at the human. "What is the problem, Big Green?" Fowler asked with a sarcastic tone. "Stow the scrap, Fleshy!" Bulkhead snapped. "I need you to call your contacts at DHS and get Miko removed from her host parents!" Fowler was shocked to say the least. "I can't do this on a whim, Big Guy. I need proof." Bulkhead blinked his optics and heard a sharp gasp from the other end as Fowler received the pictures. "I'll get right on it." Fowler promised, the former joking tone in his voice now replaced by a serious and calm demeanor. "Thanks, Fowler." Bulkhead said as he hung up. Miko smiled at the Wreaker. "T-Thank you, Bulkhead," Miko told him as her smile only widened. "I want to give you something. Hold your servo near the side of your face." He looked at her confused for a moment. Then, Miko giggled at him. "Just do it, please. It won't hurt." She promised. He did and was surprised when he felt something small and warm on the side of his faceplate. Bulkhead felt his Spark jump at the contact. His volcalizer suddenly glitched. "You're w-w-welcome."

On the roof, Roadburner stared at the sunset with a wistful smile on his faceplate. _I'm a bot!_ Jack thought for the millionth time since his change. The mech checked his chronometer and sighed. _Arcee should have been back by now._ Jack thought as he took the shortcut down the mesa and landed into a roll. In the middle of the roll, Roadburner transformed. Then, he shot off towards Arcee's last known location. "Scrap! Please, be ok Arcee!" Jack mumbled as his Spark thudded in his chassis. That's when Jack heard a voice crackle through his comm. The static made the voice difficult to decipher, but the voice was definitely Arcee's. The Energon in Roadburner's chassis froze at the pain he heard in her voice. "Hang in there, Arcee!" Jack yelled as he dumped more Energon into his drive systems and went faster.

The room was dark but familiar in a strange sense as Arcee looked around and waited for her optics to adjust to the darkness. Once they did, the femme gasped in terror. There on the wall opposite of her was the dried chassis of Tailgate. The sight of her faller partner made Arcee shake in fear. The light tap of metal on the ground roused Arcee's senses. "I'm glad to see you're awake, Arcee." A familiar voice hissed. Arcee's optics narrowed. "Airacnid…" Arcee growled. Airacnid laughed bitterly. "Is this the same femme who shared a berth with me not too long ago?" Arcee took a deep vent. "Get fragged, Airacnid! I told you that we were over Stellar Cycles ago!" Airacnid's tone turned sickly in a flash. "Oh, I fully intend to frag tonight." Arcee's optics went wide at this. "Jack," she whispered. "If you can hear this, I'm sorry."

As Arcee said those words, Jack's Spark stopped for a split second. Then, he roared up to what was left of Airacnid's ship and rolled to a kneeling position. Jack figured he was close enough to Airacnid for her to hear him. "You touch Arcee, you glitch, and I will rip out your Spark without mercy." Airacnid shuttered in delight at the threat. "Where did you pick up a mech like him?" She asked mesmerized. "I used to be human." Jack told the Spider. At this, Airacnid smiled. "You didn't tell me your human got upgraded." Roadburner's optic's glowed with anger. "She doesn't own me, you glitch!" The mech growled. "I love her!" He spat before he followed the shout with a flurry of blaster fire which chased Airacnid off. Roadburner looked at Arcee worriedly. Then, he ripped the restraints off and looked at her in worry. Arcee smiled at him weakly and fell over. "Slag it!" Jack growled. He then helped the femme to her peds and cut an Energon tube in his arm. "Drink." He said gently. Arcee didn't argue and latched onto his arm. Airacnid hissed. Then, she smiled and charged the pair. Jack prayed to Primus his blaster fire to aim true. When Jack heard the Spider scream, he whispered a prayer of thanks.

With the threat gone temporarily, Jack turned to Arcee. "Can you transform?" Roadburner asked with worry in his optics. She answered him by going to her alt mode. "Let's get going." The mech said as he looked at Arcee and was about to transform when Arcee went back to her biped mode. "Did you mean what you told Airacnid, Smooth Operator?" He looked at her optics and smiled. "I did." Arcee said, "Hhhmmm…" Jack was worried what that meant. Then, she smiled and kissed him deeply. After a few moments, Jack forgot he was not human anymore and broke the kiss. As he vented heavily, Arcee laughed at Roadburner. "Come on. Let's get back to base. Your mom is probably chewing Prime's aft." For some reason, Jack got the image of June literally eating Prime's aft and shuddered before he transformed and shot off.

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	4. Troubling Discoveries

Chapter Four: Troubling Discoveries

As Arcee and Roadburner rode back to Omega One, Megatron paced in his throne room in thought. That black-haired human pet of the Autobots was certainly not short of surprises. The thought of what made the human different from the other two intrigued the warlord. He seemed not to be troubled with the Cybertronian drill, but what made the Lord of Decepticons freeze in his tracks and smile with a sadistic look in his optic was a single thought. _Oxygen is a gas vital to these organics. Why was he not weakened by the lack of it?_ Megatron questioned in his mind as an interesting and very pleasing possibility. Megatron snarled into his comm. "Starscream, come to me immediately!" The Seeker sprinted to Megatron. Megatron's optics burned into Starscream. "Consider this a chance to redeem yourself, your OLNY chance. Do NOT fail me, Starscream!" Starscream was startled. "W-what would you have me do, Master?" Megatron generated a still frame of Jack on the drill. "Find this human and bring him to me." Starscream jumped. "Master, I'm sure-" Megatron's voice boiled with rage as he cut Starscream's excuses short. "If anyone gets in your way…" The Gladiator of Kaon stared centimeters from Starscream's faceplate. "…OFFLINE THEM!" Starscream yelped and jumped at the volume of Megatron's voice. "You are competent enough to do that simple task. Are you, Starscream?" Starscream knelt. "You are most gracious, Master. I won't fail you." As Starscream left, Megatron let a laugh pass his lips. _This can't fail,_ Megatron thought. _When Starscream fails, that superhuman will snuff his Spark_ His smile broadened. _If by some miracle Starscream does capture the human, it will bring a swift end to Optimus and his Autobots._

Arcee and Jack just enjoyed the quiet ride back. Neither said anything as the roar of their engines filled the night air. Suddenly, blue and red lights popped up in their rearviews. "Scrap!" Jack groaned as he sighed and slowed down as the policeman pulled up, got out of his cruiser, and walked to Jack's window. The policeman shined a light in Jack's face. His optics reeled, and the teen jerked his head away from the light. This surprised the cop. "Sir, could you get out of the car, please?" Jack started to panic, but in the back of Jack's mind, the voice range with a familiar tone. Somehow, Arcee was able to feel his panic and calmly had Sadie dismount from her vehicle form and replace her helmet with a human face. She had blue hair with pink highlights, pale skin, and Arcee's shining blue eyes. "Is there a problem, officer?" She asked as Jack focused and made his holoform get out of the car. The officer was struck with Arcee's beauty and smiled. "I think your friend here is on something, ma'am." Jack rolled his eyes at the officer. Jack noticed the officer had a wedding band and felt his Energon boil at the thought. "She's my girlfriend, sir." Jack said as he got in the officer's face. "I normally respect officers of the law, but men who are unfaithful…" Jack left the thought hanging as he glared at the policeman. The officer glared daggers at Jack.

The officer was about to respond when the scream of jet engines drew their attention. Jack glared as the officer. The officer blinked and looked at him with a stunned expression. "Jack?" The man asked. Jack finally recognized the voice. Jack opened his mouth to speak, but before Jack could drill into the bastard of a father, Starscream landed on his peds if front of them. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The Seeker said with a smile as he reached for Jack. Alexander glared at the robot. "Keep your hands off my son, monster!" The man growled as he fired at the Seeker. Jack started to laugh, and Sadie shook her head at Starscream. Starscream glared at Jack and shrieked. "Fear me, human!" The laugher just grew louder as Jack shook his head. "You of all people should know. There's more to me than meets the eye." As Jack spoke, his hologram vanished. Then, Sadie smiled as she too disappeared. There was the sound of two T-Cogs activating. Then, Roadburner slammed a fist into the Seeker's face. "Jack, I thought your mother taught you not to hit girls." Alexander yelled up to his titan of a son. Arcee couldn't help a smile. "Hey, Screamer," Arcee said. "You should get Knockout to change your volcalizer. I think he put the wrong one in by mistake." Starscream was furious at this point, wiped the dripping Energon from his mouth, and flashed to Arcee's back. "I will teach you some manners, femme! I will snuff your Spark just like Cliffjumper!" Starscream threatened as He held a missile to Arcee's helm. Alexander's eyes went wide, and he paled as the man thought, _You shouldn't have said that, you big medal transvestite._

Roadburner's optics glowed in fury as he glared at Starscream. "Let. Go. Of. Her. Now!" The mech ordered as Alexander took cover. Starscream threw her to the side. Arcee groaned weakly as Energon started to rush back to her. "Slag it all! That hurt!" Arcee groaned as she landed with a screech of metal on the pavement. Alexander ran to her, but Starscream was in for a world of scrap. Arcee watched through blurry optics as Roadburner beat the fragging slag out of Starscream. Finally the Seeker had enough and tried to run, but Roadburner gripped his ped tight and ripped it off without even trying. Starscream screamed. "Please, mighty Autobot! Have mercy!" Roadburner looked the sorry excuse for a mech in the optics and smiled. "Sorry. All outta mercy!" Roadburner whispered into his audio.

Then, Jack moved to slam his servo into Starscream's chestplate and rip out the Seeker's Spark when Arcee walked over and stayed his servo. "J-Roadburner, don't so this." She said a she looked him in the optics. The mech's servo shook at her words and drew back as his lips trembled. "Arcee…" Jack trailed off as emotions threatened to overwhelm him. "He threatened to offline you!" Arcee smiled as she gently pulled the trembling mech into her arms. "Exactly, he 'threatened' to offline me." She said gently. Roadburner looked at her with a shiver. "You didn't let that happen." Arcee told him before she looked over at Starscream who was bleeding from his new amputation. "We can leave him here though." She said with a grin as she transformed into her alternate mode. Alexander moved to get on her, but Roadburner stood in his path and transformed. He then looked at his father with a glare as he opened his passenger door. "You get to ride her when my chassis is cold and lifeless." Jack said with a glare as they started for Omega One.

Back at Omega One, Optimus was looking at the inventory. Bulkhead and Miko were asleep. Ratchet wanted to get more information on human physiology and to that end was being taught by June the basics. Suddenly, a comm. ping brought Ratchet's attention away from the lesion to his station. "What is it?" Ratchet asked. "Hatchet," Jack's voice cut through the silence, and June didn't fail to notice the tone of aggravation and pain in his voice. "What happened, Jack?" She asked. That was when Jack cut the connection with a sigh. Alexander smiled at his wife's voice and looked over at Jack. The young man refused to acknowledge his father as they pulled into Omega One. When Alexander got out of Jack's alt mode and saw June, he smiled. The nurse on the other hand turned white as a sheet and screamed. Optimus' helm shot up at the scream as his Spark jumped and started leaping in his chest. Optimus dropped his data pad and sprinted out of his quarters. "Ms. Darby, are you alright?" He asked with worry in his optics. The mech then followed her gaze to a human male who could have been Jack's Creator. The way June reacted to the man made Optimus' servos tighten. He walked closer as June slowly backed away from the human.

The standoff woke Miko and Bulkhead. The big bot walked in the room with Miko on his servo. Alexander's eyes got huge at the big green bot glared at him. Miko's eyes grew huge at the sight of the man. "O-otosama?!"The girl stuttered as tears began to shine in her eyes as the Asian teen stared at Alexander. Jack's optics grew wide as his processor effortlessly. "What the hell does she mean 'Father'?" Jack asked as he and June glared at the man. Alexander smiled at them darkly. Then, his smile grew fangs. Then, Alexander shifted his appearance to that of a Asian man who looked a little like Miko. "You could always tell, Miko." He said as he looked at her, and she backed further into Bulkhead's servo. "Out of the research I pioneered with Energon, I found a way to modify human genetic code with little more than a thought." He told them as Bulkhead stepped in front of Miko, and Prime stepped in front of June.

Jack glared at the man. "Let's go, you fragging sack of slag!" Alexander shrugged. "Have it your way." He said with a calm grin before he and Jack walked outside of the base. He smiled at Jack. "You know by now that Energon is the key to modern Cybertronian transmutation, but…" He smiled darkly as his eyes turned yellow, and the man changed into a gigantic metal dragon. "Prime, I need back up out here ASAP!" Roadburner yelled into his comm. as he dodged and ducked around the creature's jaws as it tried to turn the mech into a chew toy.

Miko's eyes got huge as she stared at Bulkhead, jumped off his servo, and sprinted out of the base. "Miko!" Bulkhead yelled. Miko glared at the door and felt her eyes change to yellow optics. "No one hurts my ROAR!" She said as she turned into a more feminine form of the dragon mech and leaped at him. Jack was stunned when the beast was thrown off of him, by another dragon. "Miko, is that you?!" The smaller dragon gave a sight nod and continued to attack the larger one. "Hang on, sis!" Jack yelled as he got to his peds and leaped onto the thing's back. Then, Jack activated his blade. The creature tried to buck him off, Jack used the momentum to get some air and used the force of acceleration to severe the creature's neck. As the head fell to the ground and dripped orange Energon as its optics went dark. Bulkhead ran out with his blaster ready to fire. "Miko, where are you?!"The feminine metal dragon looked up before her body began to shift. "Hey, Bulk." She said with a slight blush as she looked up from her biped mode at Bulkhead. "Miko?!" Bulkhead asked as his jaw dropped. Then, he sprinted to her and gripped her tight in a hug.

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	5. Training

Chapter Five: Training

The rest of the bots and humans in the base stormed out with blasters at the ready. Optimus was the first to notice Bulkhead's unique position with his arms around a Predicon in a tender embrace. She seemed quite content in his arms, and if Bulkhead didn't see her as a threat, why should he? "Stand down." He ordered in an even baritone. "Optimus, it-" That's as far as Ratchet got before Bulkhead jumped on him. "SHE just had to offline her Creator! Cut Miko some slack, Docbot!" Ratchet and the rest of the people in attendance just stared at him. " _That's not Miko._ " Bumblebee stated. Miko blinked in shock. "Bumblebee, I can understand you! This is totally awesome!" She said as she started jumping up and down happily. Then, she froze and grinned as a thought occurred to her. "I can crush cons with you now!" Arcee grinned and shook her helm. "That's definitely Miko." Ratchet stared at the biped Predicon. "That's impossible!" Miko's voice grew in seriousness. "Watch it, Ratchet," She told him. "I'm not a 'fleshy' anymore." She said as Ratchet took a few steps back. "Enough!" Optimus ordered. Miko stopped instantly. "Yes, sir." She said as Jack put a brotherly arm around her. "We start training now."

Back inside the base about fifteen minutes later, Jack looked around. "Do you guys have something like a Danger Room in the base?" Optimus gave the mech a confused look, but Bulkhead smiled and nodded. "Follow me." The brother and sister did and found themselves in a strange section of the base. Jack saw Arcee sparing with holograms of Vehicon drones, and his cooling systems kicked in as he watched. Miko was close enough to hear his fans. "Don't have a meltdown, Jack." She teased. Jack's cheeks tented blue at the thought. Once Arcee had destroyed the last drone hologram, she looked up and walked out of the room to them and smiled. "Two on two…mechs versus femmes?" She asked with a smile. Bulkhead looked at Miko questioningly. The femme punched him. "I'm not made of glass, Bulk. Let's do this!" Arcee nodded and set the room for a two on two match. The teams took their positions and stared each other down.

Miko charged Bulkhead with a yell and started to throw punches. Bulkhead laughed as he dodged or caught every one of Miko's attempts to hit him. "Use your anger. Don't let it use you." He instructed. Miko nodded, and her optics narrowed in focus. Then, she seemed to turn into another bot entirely as she let her instincts guide her attack. Her attacks grew more controlled, and she began to dance in combat. Bulkhead found it difficult to keep up. Despite the fact that Miko was only about four feet shorter than Bulkhead, she was much more agile than him and was able to land some sharp hits. All in all, Miko was adapting well, and that made Bulkhead happy. He turned to Jack. "How are you doing over there, Jack?"

Jack was in a world of slag. "Why does she have to be so beautiful?" He mumbled to himself as he fought to stay focused on the fight. The lack of focus had already given him a few dings and dents courtesy of Arcee. The femme knew she had this effect on him, and that is precisely why she set the sparring match up like she had. He didn't need to be thinking about her in a real fight. That would send him to the Well quickly. The thought of Jack offline made the femme freeze. When she froze up, Jack pressed his attack. Arcee came back to the world when Jack sent her to the floor. She smiled, got back to her peds, and attacked with renewed vigor. Jack smiled as he dodged her attacks. He knew exactly how to knock Arcee off balance. He gripped Arcee lightly and pulled her into a kiss. Arcee's battle stance dropped instantly as she enjoyed the kiss.

Bulkhead and Miko continued to fight until Miko noticed the scene next to them. A smirk spread across her faceplate as she watched the tender moment. Bulkhead smiled and ran at Miko. The femme smiled and, without taking her optics off her brother and Arcee, let fly with a single punch. The punch connected and sent the Wrecker down. As Bulkhead fell, a surprising thought ran through his processor. _Primus, I think I'm in love!_ Bulkhead stood and rubbed his faceplate where the impression of Miko's balled up servo was clearly visible. Once Jack and Arcee broke the kiss, Miko turned to see Bulkhead getting to his peds. "What happened?!" She asked in worry as she helped him up. Bulkhead laughed and pointed to the dent in his faceplate. "You have a killer right hook." He said with a smile and a chuckle as Miko blushed.

He put a large servo on her shoulder. "You did great today, Miko was about to respond when she saw Jack and Arcee's optics glowing intensely blue. Bulkhead chuckled nervously. "Let's leave these two alone." Miko noticed at tone in his voice and understood as the Wrecker and Predicon left the room and went back to the main base.

On the way, Miko suddenly felt very tired and stumbled as her knee servo motors whined in protest. The femme looked at Bulkhead in worry. "Bulk…why is there a message flashing that says 'Energon level critical'?" She asked tiredly. Bulkhead's optics went wide. "Hang on Miko!" The bot said before he hefted her on his shoulders and carried her to the med bay. "Ratchet! Miko needs emergency refueling now!" Ratchet didn't ask any questions; he just started running lines of Energon into the femme.

As Miko laid down on the berth, her mind drifted to Cybertron. When she set a ped on the planet, the scene shifted to a council. "I'm in trouble." Miko mumbled. A laugh from the bot in the middle of the group startled her. "On the contrary, young femme, while your body is being refueled, we are to give you an education of Cybertronian history." Miko just sighed and rolled her optics. That is until intense battle filled her optics and adios. "Long ago…" Primus' voice began to explain the scenes one by one, and for the first time, Miko actually enjoyed learning history. She was a little sad when Solaris said, "Our time with you is almost up, but know that you and your brother are citizens of Cybertron." Miko looked at the femme smith. "Shouldn't Jack be here too?" The Femme Prime blushed. "He will gain the same knowledge through his Bond with Arcee."

As Miko nodded with a massive blush, the vision ended, and Miko woke up to the feeling of a mild pain on her left shoulder. "Miko…" Bulkhead vented in shock as a golden Autobot insignia emblazoned itself on her shoulder. "Totally awesome!" She shrieked in excitement. "By the way, teachers at Jasper High could learn a few things about teaching from Primus." Her simple joke made optics bulge around the room. "What?" She asked, confused. "While I was out, the Primes taught me about Cybertron and declared Jack and me citizens."

As if summoned by the mentioned Jack and Miko's extraterrestrial citizenship, Fowler appeared on the big screen. Fowler looked around the room for two missing "humans". "Where are Jack and Miko?" He asked. "Why do you need to know?" Bulkhead shot back. Miko giggled and walked up to the screen. Fowler's eyes widened, and he just stared. "Jack is otherwise occupied at the moment, and I am Miko. How may I direct your call?" Fowler just stared. "You haven't reported for school, and if this keeps up, things will start looking rough." Miko nodded with a shrug and said, "Kill us." Bulkhead's Spark stopped when she said that. "What I mean is, fake our deaths." Fowler nodded and looked to where he thought June was. "Up here, Fowler." Fowler expected to see another femme, but what he did see shocked him just about as much. She was calmly sitting on Prime's shoulder. Fowler was shocked. _What the hell is she doing?_ His mind thought in shock. The woman nodded and said, "I don't see how Jack can continue school the way he is now." Fowler raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" That's when Arcee and Jack walked in, servo in servo. "Ah. I see. I'll cook up something. Fowler out." He then cut the connection with a sigh. _This world has gone fucking crazy!_ Fowler thought with a growl.

In the _Nemesis_ , Soundwave was investigating a couple of strange Energon signals. They looked ancient which made no sense. These creatures were definitely Cybertronian but they were the Cybertronian equivalent of Earthling Dinosaurs! _What were these beasts doing on Earth active?!_ The Spymaster thought in shock. _Lord Megaton must know about this!_ He thought as he downloaded a copy of the data and walked to Megatron's throne room. Megaton was looking at Energon stockpiles and data from the mines when Soundwave made his presence known. "I have…interesting findings…" Megaton turned to see the two Predicon signals laid against a map. Then, he noticed one wink out as an unknown Autobot seemed to assist the beast in offlining its rival. "This is indeed interesting, Soundwave. Very good. You are dismissed." With a wave of Megatron's servo, Soundwave nodded and walked off. _This certainly is an interesting turn of events. We must capture the beast immediately._ The Decepticon Lord thought. "Soundwave! Set up a false Energon beacon! We will draw this Autobot and its pet out and capture the beast!" The grey warlord ordered with a dark grin.

"Miko, you want to go Dune Bashing for a little while?' Bulkhead asked with a smile. Miko looked at the green Wreaker and sighed as she shook her head at him. Bulkhead was instantly surprised. "Why?" He asked as he made the femme look at him. "I…I want to fly! The sky calls to me." She said quietly as she looked away from him. Bulkhead smiled and took her in a gentile hug as he felt his Spark break for the femme. "I know, but you know why you can't. Earth isn't ready for bots. How do you think they would react to a giant metal dragon?" He asked with a kind look in his optics as the teen nodded and went to herhuman form. Bulkhead thought of something. "If you're going to be using your human form as a disguise, we need to tell Fowler not to…" There it was again. His Spark jumped in fear at the thought of killing her. _I'm going to have to ask Ratchet for a diagnostic._ The mech decided before he and Miko went for a few rounds of Dune Bashing to burn of the stress of the day.

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	6. Showdown

Chapter Six: Showdown

While Bulkhead and Miko were Dune Bashing, a strange signal popped up on Bulkhead's dashboard GPS. "Ratchet, I'm picking up a faint Energon signal. Miko and I are going to investigate the site. Ratchet's optics widened in surprise. "Strange," he said to the Wrecker. "I've never picked up any Energon signals in that area before." Ratchet said as he scratched his chin in thought." Miko piped up. "If the Cons unearthed a new cache of the blue stuff…" She suggested. Bulkhead would have nodded had he been in his biped mode. "She's right, Ratchet." He said calmly. Ratchet vented in annoyance and pitched the area where the bot's nose would be if he was human. "Investigate but do not engage until you can get backup." Miko giggled and shook her head. "Ratchet, Wreckers don't call for backup. They call for cleanup!" Something in Bulkhead's Spark shook at the thought of Miko in battle, but then he remembered what she did to him and thought, _The Changeling can handle herself in a battle._ His mirrors zoomed in on Miko, and the Heavy Hitter for Team Prime got a bad feeling in the bottom of his tank as they headed to the site.

Breakdown sighed as he waited for the Autobots to show up and spring the trap. He had itching fists and didn't like hiding, but he was the biggest bot on the _Nemesis_ barring Megatron himself and everyone knew the Gladiator of Kaon reserved his fighting for Optimus and Optimus alone. Such single-minded determination had a pool going as to whether the Decepticon Leader wanted to frag Optimus or not. Currently, the bet seemed to favor sexual frustration instead of true rage toward the Autobot Leader. Breakdown couldn't help a smirk as it made the mech laugh. "Why doesn't Megatron just admit it and frag Optimus already?" The mech wondered to himself. Being Knockout's assistant had its advantages. He, Knockout, and maybe Soundwave were the only ones who knew the truth about their leader. Their bad aft leader was really a femme in the plating of a mech. Breakdown was drawn out of these thoughts as he heard a familiar sound of Bulkhead's engine.

Bulkhead let Miko get out of his alt mode as Miko looked around in confusion. "There's nothing here!" She growled. "I don't get it. Why put on this show?" She growled as she walked up to the beacon and kicked it in frustration. "The Cons must want something but what?" Bulkhead asked as he activated his blasters and looked around. "Stay out of sight, Miko." Bulkhead said into his comm. Miko was surprised when she heard his voice in her head. "Roger," Miko responded as she took cover behind a boulder with a little grass that grew atop it. Breakdown charged out with a yell. Bulkhead activated his mace and struck Breakdown. The mech reeled from the blow. "Bulkhead, I'm impressed." He said with a laugh. "You actually made me flinch." Bulkhead glared at Breakdown. The bot then gave Breakdown a fist to the gut. The Decepticon reeled and looked at the green bot. He then looked around with a smile on his faceplate and asked, "Where is your human pet?" Bulkhead's optics widened. "I'll drag you to the Pit myself if you lay a digit on her!" Bulkhead growled out in a warning tone. Breakdown raised an optic ridge at the Autobot. Then, his face formed into a smirk. "Have you fragged her yet?" In response, Bulkhead started to beat Breakdown's helm in.

Miko stared in shock at Bulkhead's sudden flash of brutality in her defense. She watched as her best friend continued to pound the Con into the dirt even as his limbs went limp. Finally, the Asian teen ran from the safety of her hiding spot and got between Bulkhead and a shutdown Breakdown. "Bulk, I'm safe!" She told the bot as she put a hand on his ped and looked up at the Wrecker in worry. Bulkhead shook his helm and looked at Miko with a smile as he offered her a servo, and she jumped on it with a smile. "What was that all about?" Miko asked as she looked Bulkhead in the optics. Bulkhead debated whether or not to tell the girl what had sent the big bot into a rage. Finally, something in his Spark told him she needed to hear this, so he said, "Breakdown's a perverted freak when it comes to femmes of any species." Bulkhead said with a disgusted look in his optics. "Bulk, are you sure you're ok?" Miko asked with worry in her eyes. Bulkhead didn't know if he was in fact ok. "I don't know, Miko." He said as he frowned at her.

Megatron was furious. "How could Breakdown fail to capture a simple beast?!" The Con Leader growled. She paced as she glared at the throne room. "I guess there are just some things you have to do yourself!" She growled in frustration as she patched through to Soundwave. "Soundwave, I need a Groundbridge to Breakdown's last recorded coordinates!" The order was answered by a Groundbridge portal that appeared a few feet from the warmonger. "Time to claim the weapon that is mine!" She growled as she stepped through the portal. Miko glared at the portal as it appeared a few feet from Breakdown. She felt a sense of dread settle into her stomach as the portal opened and none other than Megatron walked through the portal. Miko, get back!" Bulkhead ordered as he stood between Megatron and Miko. "Get out of my way, Wrecker" With a mighty punch to the helm.

Miko started to shake with fury as her Predicon form fought for freedom at the sight of Bulkhead's motionless chassis. "Megatron," Miko's eyes flashed to yellow optics as she looked up at Megatron. "You're making me angry." She said as she grinned up at the Warlord's red optics. Then, Megatron watched as the human femme did something odd. The tiny creature smiled with a deadly glare and said, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry!" Megatron looked at the human femme and laughed. "What will you do, you pathetic-" Megatron never finished the threat. Before an optic could blink, the massive form of a prehistoric Cybertronian held her clawed foreleg on the Warlord's chest plate. With a lethal look in her optics, Miko's Predicon form glared at the Decepticon leader in anger burning in her optics.

"I want a fair fight!" Miko growled as she transformed into her biped mode. "I challenge you to a Gladiatorial Match of Kaon…one on one…no outside reinforcements." Miko said as her golden optics looked directly at Megatron. "Miko, no!" Bulkhead said as he looked at them with fear in his optics. "Megatron is too experienced." Miko looked at Bulkhead in shock. "Bulkhead, Megatron is definitely a femme. Energon scent doesn't lie, and she is leaking…" Miko realized what was happening and felt a smile crawl across her face plate. "Let's go, you PMSing glitch!" "With pleasure…" Megatron said with a sadistic grin on her face as she and Miko crossed blades. "When I snuff out your Spark, I will harvest your Energon, monster, and make endless clones that will offline your Autobot friends one by one. I will even save the Wrecker for last, so that he may know his Sparkmate offlined him and her own friends under my command!" Miko smiled and hit Megatron hard enough for Energon to spew from her mouth on the impact of the punch. "Don't count on it!" Miko growled as she stood over Megatron, transformed to her dragon alternate mode, and carried Megatron's chassis high into the air as far as the femme could manage. Then, Miko focused her strength and threw Megatron into the sun with a roar.

When Miko returned to Bulkhead, she smiled at him tiredly and looked at the mech. "I…told you I could handle myself." She said as she gave him a kind smile. "Miko..." Bulkhead said as he picked her up in worry and steadied the femme on her peds. "…what you did was stupid and irresponsible!" The mech said with a glare. "I saved your aft. Didn't I?" She said with a look. "Yes, but-" Miko looked him in the optics. "Case closed." She said to him calmly. "Miko! Would you listen to me?!" Bulkhead asked as he took her into a firm grip. Miko blinked in surprise at the mech's tone. "W-what is it, Bulkhead?" Miko asked the green giant bot with worry in her own optics. "I think we're…" Bulkhead started, but Miko put a digit to his lips and kissed the mech gently. The mech's Spark froze in happiness at the sensation of Miko's glossa on his. _Wow_ , Bulkhead thought as he allowed himself to enjoy the kiss for a few seconds before he broke the kiss quickly and blinked in shock at what Miko did. _What did you do to me, Miko?_ "W-what was that for?" He asked with a stutter in his volcalizer. The stutter caused Miko to giggle. "It was the best way to shut you up quickly, Bulk." She said to him as she looked him in the optics. Bulkhead felt his Spark freeze again when their optics locked onto each other's optics.

When the couple broke optic contact, Miko blushed heavily at the Wrecker's features. "What is a Sparkmate?" Miko asked as she went back to her human form and got in Bulkhead's alternate mode after he transformed. Bulkhead stayed silent for a few moments as he thought about what he should tell Miko. "It's the Cybertronian form of marriage." He said to Miko. This made the girl lose her bottom jaw. "Why do you ask?" He questioned calmly. "Megatron thought we were Sparkmates." She said with a nervous laugh now that she knew what Megatron meant when she called Bulkhead Miko's Sparkmate. "Why are you nervous, Miko?" Bulkhead asked as they started back to the base. "Do you think we could actually be Sparkmates, Bulk?" Bulkhead was silent for a few seconds. "It would certainly be a first." He said with a joking tone in his voice. Bulkhead was surprised when he felt a slight sadness in his Spark when he said that to Miko. "Oh," She said sadly as she looked away from Bulkhead's dash and curled into his backseat. Bulkhead would have been smiling sadly if he could in his alternate mode. "Miko," He told her gently. "Is that what you want Miko?" Miko looked up at the dash in shock as Bulkhead's suggestion. "Do you want this?" She asked him as she climbed into the front seat and put a hand on his dash. Bulkhead felt his Spark stop momentarily for the third time that day. "I would like nothing better."

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	7. The Old Olympians

Chapter Seven: The Old Olympians

Jack woke up in a cold sweat after he got home that night. He was thankful he could still act human and go to bed in his room thanks to his holoform because Cybertronian berths were not the most comfortable sleeping arrangements. After sleeping peacefully for a few hours, he almost screamed in horror at a very vivid nightmare jarred him out of sleep, but someone calmed him. "Jack," the person called. "Are you alright?" It took Jack a moment to recognize the voice. "Optimus, what are you doing here?" Jack asked as he looked up to see a man in a blue cap, a red button down, blue jeans and cowboy boots. The boy looked at Optimus in mild surprise. "I was warned by the Matrix about your distress." Jack sat up at this. "What happened?" Jack sighed and began. "It was strange. I was in Ancient Greece on Mount Olympus." Optimus' eyes widened. "I saw the Greek gods, but they had purple eyes and seemed to look at me like they wanted to kill me."

He shivered as he felt Arcee start awake through their Bond. "Twelve of them, am I right?" Optimus asked. Jack nodded. Then, he shrugged. "Technically, there's a Thirteenth Olympian, but he's only allowed to come to Olympus on the Winter Solstice." Optimus stared at Jack in shock. "The Anti-Primes…" Optimus' holoform paled. Jack instantly was worried about Optimus when he saw the clear sign of fear. "Legend says the Unicron mirrored Primus' creation of our race by creating an Unholy Thirteen." Jack shivered. "Ancient Greeks might have worshipped them as deities." Optimus nodded. "If what you say is true," Optimus said as he began to pace in thought. "The Winter Solstice is a few days away. Once Unicorn's Thirteen become united, from what you told me, they will come for you, Jack."

Sadie walked in the room and looked at Jack. Then, she hugged him gently and glared at Optimus. "They can try." She told him darkly. Jack put a gentle hand on her arm. Then, he got up, changed his holoform so that he was "dressed", and looked at her. "This is something I have to do alone, Arcee." Jack said gently. "I don't know what I'd do if you went offline because of me. Stay here and protect Mom, please." Jack told the femme as he kissed her and drew back. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Arcee glared at him. Then, she looked at Optimus in disbelief and anger. "You're going to let him go to his death alone?!" Optimus looked at the femme. "If Jack needs backup, I will send it, but this is for Jack and Jack alone." The Leader of the Autobots told his Second in Command. She reluctantly nodded. "So help me," she poked him in the chest. "If you offline Jack Darby, I will go to the Allspark, kick your aft, and drag you back." The threat made Jack laugh. "No worries, Arcee. I will come back." He told her before he left a note for June and started on his journey.

Jack was deep in thought as he drove. _How do I even begin to find Olympus?_ The teen thought. He sighed. Then, he thought of Primus' kind and giving nature. "If Unicron is the opposite of Primus…" Jack tapped his chin in thought. "Unicorn craves worship and got nothing but a mention in the mythology of Cybertron. So, he made the Unholy Thirteen to be worshipped by humans, and who has the most Greco-Roman bleed?" Jack's eyes widened. "Olympus is in the United States, but where is it exactly?" As if to answer Jack's question, there was a blue flash in his passenger seat. Drawn by the sudden flash, Jack looked over and saw a weathered hardback with blue covers and a symbol of Poseidon's Trident on the front cover. "Scrap!" Jack growled as he glared at the book in distaste. Jack looked up and mumbled, "Primus, why?" Then, Jack put his accelerator to the floor and headed to The Empire State Building.

The closer Jack got to New York, the weirder things became. As he rode, Jack could swear he saw centaurs running free across the plain. A few even waved at him. Jack shook his head and continued on. In the city of New York, Jack continued to see odd things. Kids running around in orange t-shirts chasing beasts while the people around the groups didn't seem any the wiser. Jack was surprised by this until he remembered. The Mist covered everything. Normally, people can't see through it, but there were a few select "mortals" who could see the world as it is. Jack reminded himself of this as he absorbed his alternate mode and started walking.

Percy Jackson, his girlfriend Thalia Grace, and their satyr buddy Grover Underwood talked as they walked through New York. "What was that dream again?" Grover asked as he looked at the raven-haired teen with sea-green eyes. "Dad…" Percy hesitated because his Dad, Poseidon Ruler of the Seas, was rarely this nervous. "…said someone was coming to overthrow the gods." Grover stared and bleated quickly in nervousness. "That's all he told you?" Thalia, Daughter of Zeus, asked him with a worried glance as Percy nodded. "Strange…" The girl said as she saw something out of her he corner of her eye. The girl stared in shock and pulled Percy's head around. The Son of the Earthshaker went wide-eyed as he saw a teen absorb a car into his body. "Can monsters do that?!" Percy asked in shock. Thalia shook her head. "That's not a monster, but it isn't human either." She growled as her eyes narrowed and the group charged.

Jack heard the three yell as they ran at him and sighed in annoyance. He then dodged and weaved through the strikes too fast for the demigods to land a blow. Jack rolled his eyes. "I've fought drones with more skill than you two." Jack mumbled as he held up an arm to block a strike from the teen that brandished Riptide. When the sword shattered on contact with Jack's arm, the couple froze and Grover stared back disbelief. "Thaaaat's impossible!" Jack shook his head, summoned his alternate mode, and opened the doors. "Anything else you want to say, Goat Boy?" Thalia stared at the vacant vehicle in shock. "Don't be shy. Get in." Roadburner ordered. "Where did that guy go?" Percy asked as he looked around. Roadburner vented in frustration before he activated his Holoform. "Right here. Get in before we attract unwanted attention." The trio didn't argue, but Grover started to munch on a tin can in nervousness.

"What are you?" Thalia asked as Jack looked back at the backseat at the girl. "I don't exist. Tell anyone about me, and I will hunt you down." Thunder boomed overhead in response. "It was a joke, Bolt Brain." Jack growled under his breath as he felt Arcee laugh at him through their Bond. Grover shivered. "You should have more respect for the King of the Gods." Grover said in a fearful tone. Jack just rolled his eyes but cursed when he looked in his rear view mirrors and saw triplets. "Slag it!" Jack whispered under his breath. "Hang on." Jack told them as the cons started shooting. "Optimus, about that backup…" Jack said as he tried to dodge the blasts. Arcee felt her tank drop at those words and all but ordered Ratchet to Bridge her to Roadburner's current location. "I'm on my way, Roadburner!" Arcee yelled into her comm. as she rocketed to base and from there went to Jack's location.

When the demigods saw the Groundbridge, they were stunned. "I bet you Lord Hephaestus would be drooling over that." Thalia said with a sigh as she watched a single blue street bike rocket out of the Bridge. "That's your backup? A blue street bike and that's all?" Percy started to laugh, but the laugh died quickly as the demigods and satyr watched the two-wheeler work. "Roadburner, what's wrong? Why are you running?" Arcee asked over the comm. Jack sighed. "Remember how we met?" Arcee sighed. "There's going to be more humans at Base? Ratchet's going to love that." Percy looked back at the femme fighting the cons and jumped out of Jack's alternate mode. He glared back at Jack. "You may think we're helpless, but we're not." Percy growled as Thalia summoned her spear and shield and followed Percy into the fray. Jack sighed and willed his console to slide back to reveal a silvery version of Riptide with the edges of the Celestial Bronze from the original sword. "I felt bad for breaking Riptide, so I made you this." Jack explained. Percy took the sword and was surprised that the sword maintained its original balance in his hand. Then, he turned toward the giant purple robots. Jack sighed and disappeared into his alternate mode and transformed.

Just as Megatron was about to be consumed by the heat of the sun, Megatron felt the presence of Dark Energon grow within him until he glowed in the Dark Energon flames rolling off his chassis. "I still have need of you, servant." Unicron's voice echoed in the Warlord's mind as the power of Dark Energon healed Megatron's body and sent him flying toward Earth at extremely high speed. On Earth, Roadburner got a bad feeling in his Spark as it began to beat quicker. Then, he looked up at the sky and saw a purple comet coming in hot. As Arcee and the others mopped up the cons, Arcee saw the comet and yell, "Frag!" She scooped up the two humans and the satyr and ran away right as the comet impacted. When she and Roadburner made it to their peds, the Sparkmates looked at each other. Then, they heard Megatron's cold laugh.

As Megatron's optics burned with Dark Energon taint, he smiled at the satyr and the demigods. Then, Megatron yelled and slammed his fists into the ground. "I have some old friends for you, Perseus Jackson." He said in a voice that made Percy shiver at the power it exuded as all manner of monsters rose out of the Dark Energon fissure. "This will be interesting." Percy growled as he and Thalia ran at all the foes Percy returned to Tartarus personally ever since he was twelve. Arcee and Jack ran at Megatron, and together fought with the skill and union of a single person. Their skill could only stretch so far however. As the Dark Energon began to weaken Arcee and Jack, they kept fighting, and Jack even had a grin on his face. "It looks like you get to pound Megatron again, sis." He said into his comm. tiredly. The request was met with a roar that made the demigods and satyr freeze. When the group saw a giant metal dragon, they at first thought it was one of Hephaestus' automatons. Then, when the creature transformed into a feminine figure roughly a few feet shorter than Megatron, the demigods realized their error and just stared as the Cybertronian tore into Megatron and left him for scrap. As the Cybertronian vented, she noticed the three and almost had a Spark attack. Before Miko could launch into a complete fangirl meltdown, Roadburner put a servo on her shoulder and smiled. He then transformed and opened his doors. "You can unload on them when we get back to base, Miko." Jack promised as the Daughter of Zeus, the Son of Poseidon, and the Satyr got in Roadburner's alternate mode and raced off.

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	8. The Storm

Chapter Eight: The Storm

As Jack rode with the demigods and Satyr in tow, something kept bothering him. "If the gods are real," he asked his passengers. "Why have Cybertronians not crossed paths with them before?" Percy looked at Jack and shrugged. "Until we met you, I thought aliens were just a stupid idiot trying to draw attention to themselves." Jack laughed at that. "You fight mythical monsters on a regular basis, and you thought aliens were out of the question?" Thalia sighed. "He does have a point." She admitted. Jack sighed and smiled when he was far enough away from civilization and called for a Groundbridge. "Ratchet, I need a Bridge." The answer was a gruff snort. In spite of that, a portal opened, and Jack crossed it into base.

The humans and satyr looked at the massive structure in shock. Then, they noticed the bots and a certain medic noticed them. "By the Alspark, more humans?" Ratchet complained. Miko, in her biped mode now, stood by Bulkhead's side and started firing questions at them. The first one hit Percy the hardest. "Where's Annabeth?" He glared at her. "How do you know about us?" Miko shrugged but didn't fail to notice how Thalia flinched when Percy said "us" instead of "her". "A son of Apollo is writing a series about you guys." Miko sighed and shrank down to her human form before she walked over and tried to comfort Percy. "I always knew Annabeth was trouble," Miko told him with a sad expression. "She does nothing but put you down in the books." Percy nodded. "At first, I thought that was how love worked." His face brightened slightly. "Then, Aphrodite straitened me out." Ratchet started laughing. "You're referring to myth as if it is real." Roadburner glared at Ratchet and walked over to the medic. "The night before I changed, Primus and Unicron were ready to come to blows in my head!" The entire base froze, and all eyes looked at him in shock. "Unicron wants to use the Olympians…" He looked at Percy and Thalia apologetically. "…to kick my aft. I don't have the foggiest idea why he's zeroed in on me."

Optimus walked up to the group and put a servo on Roadburner's right shoulder plate. "I might have an answer for that, Jack." The leader said as the satyr and demigods stared at the titan in awe. "The Matrix is not only a repository. It is a communication device that allows me to communicate with the former Thirteen and Primus himself." Optimus continued to speak to Jack as Arcee and the rest of the bot's faceplates stared at Optimus. "It is written in The Covenant of Primus. 'Two defenders, one born of Chaos and the other Order, shall stand and fight the Thirteen of Chaos before the Key will return Order.'" He turned to face the rest of the group. "For the longest time, I thought the 'Key' referred to the Omega Keys, but now, I am not certain." He said in a strange tone.

Before Optimus could elaborate on what he meant, Fowler came on the screen. "PRIME! Have you looked at the news lately?!" _Why does Fowler always yell?_ Prime thought as he tried hard not to lose to his emotions. "No, Agent Fowler," Optimus said calmly. "I have not." An insert appeared over Fowler's left and expanded to fill the screen. " _Storms like nothing anyone has ever seen are ripping across the country with strength never seen are laying waste to the country. No one can pinpoint the cause of this phenomena, but scientists are devising theories as we speak._ " The meteorologist said. Then, the report cut off, and Fowler reappeared. "What in the hell is going on, Prime?! Did Megatron build a massive weather machine?" Percy and Thalia paled when they saw Zeus and Poseidon dueling in one shot of the storm and looked at each other. "Our Dads are PISSED." Percy said with a shiver. _This can't end well_. Percy thought as Roadburner looked at the demigods and sighed before he transformed and opened his doors. "Come on you two," he said with an unseen glare. "We have to stop your parents from destroying the country." They nodded and quickly got in. "If you think you're going up against gods alone, think again." Arcee said calmly. She then transformed into her vehicle mode, and together Roadburner and Arcee road out toward the rapidly approaching storm.

Zeus and Poseidon were battling it out as usual. "Where is my daughter?!" Zeus thundered in anger as lightning flashed in response to Zeus' fury and lit up his eyes in a frightening glow. Poseidon returned the glare. "Where is my son, you drama queen?" Zeus shot him a look and frowned deeply. "You're one to talk especially with your other form." Poseidon's eyes narrowed. "You swore never to speak of it!" Poseidon's rising anger was reflected in the increasing rainfall.

The Autobots pulled into the squall line, and Percy and Thalia got out of Roadburner's vehicle mode. Percy and Thalia looked up to see their parents grappling in the sky as lightning and rain fell from the skies. Thalia shivered in the soaking rain. "We…have to stop them." Thalia said as her teeth began to chatter because of her cold and damp clothes. "Give me your hand!" Percy yelled over the nose of the storm. Thalia's hands shook in the cold rain, but she managed to find Percy's hand. The Son of Poseidon couldn't help but feel a pang of dread race through him when he felt her ice cold hand in his. _I hope this works._ Percy thought as he and Thalia closed their eyes and began to wrestle for control of their parents' domains. Slowly the rain began to slack up, and the lightning and subsequent thunder became less frequent. The strain of fighting their parents soon became evident, however as the demigod pair began to sway and teeter. When the clouds began to roll back through their combined efforts, Percy and Thalia passed out onto the muddy ground from exhaustion.

Zeus and Poseidon looked around in confusion at the lack of water and lightning. "What happened?" Zeus asked his brother. Arcee couldn't take it anymore, transformed, gingerly picked up Thalia and Percy in a servo, and glared at the gods. "Look what your pointless bickering has done to your children!" She yelled at them in a deadly anger. The gods in question stared at her servo and looked at each other. For perhaps the first time in their unimaginable existence, the two brothers realized what they had done and didn't like it. "What were they doing with you?" Poseidon asked in a concerned but not an accusing tone. Roadburner transformed and walked a few steps closer to the brothers. "They were attacked by Decepticons and since our existence is a government secret and your children will be seen as targets by our enemies, we're protecting them." He explained.

It was at that point Percy began to move in Arcee's servo. "By Tartarus, what hit me?" He groaned as he sat up and looked around. "Watch your language, son." Poseidon admonished. Percy nodded with a calm expression. Then, he realized Thalia still wasn't awake and glared at Zeus. "She's always been afraid of her power and now…" He shivered and felt pain rise in his chest. "Ratchet, we need a med evac now!" Arcee called. In response, a Groundbridge opened and Ratchet charged out. "Take the humans back to Base. Mom needs to tend to them." Ratchet nodded and hurried back through the Bridge with the demigods.

Once they were gone, Zeus and Poseidon put hands on their foreheads and groaned. "Slag!" Roadburner growled as Zeus and Poseidon stepped on the ground. Their eyes completely turned the color of Dark Energon, and they glared at the mech and femme. "You will not stop us, Defenders of Primus. You shall fall this day!" As they spoke, a third god appeared out of Roadburner's large shadow and tackled him. "Zeus, Poseidon, and now Hades…" Roadburner growled with an optic roll as he blasted Zeus in the face. The god stumbled back and glared at the mech as he held a hand over his face and turned it into clouds which healed his face. "Great!" Roadburner growled sarcastically. As Zeus threw a bolt at him, Roadburner leaped at the god and pinned him. Zeus smiled and struck Roadburner hard enough to send him sailing back. Then, an idea buzzed across Roadburner's processor. "Ratchet, I need you to send a Groundbridge to my location and set the destination coordinates to orbit!" He said into his comm. "WHAT?!" Roadburner rolled his optics as he continued to dodge Zeus' attacks. "Just do it!" A Groundbridge opened and Zeus smiled. "Go ahead! Run like the coward you are!" Roadburner smiled. "Ladies first, Drama Queen." Roadburner rolled right of Zeus' lunge, gripped the god in his servos, and threw him through the Bridge. "One down. Two to go." Roadburner said as he ran to help Arcee with Hades and Poseidon.

Arcee definitely had her servos full. Poseidon was pulling water from the ground and attempting to drown her with it. Hades was a bigger problem. He kept attacking her through her own shadows. Roadburner sighed and glared at Poseidon. "Time to dance, you bastard!" Poseidon's form flickered, and in his place stood a gorgeous goddess. "You wouldn't hit a girl. Would you?" Roadburner started laughing. "It makes sense. The Sea is beautiful but can periods of mood swings." She glared at him as Roadburner stressed the word "periods". "What? It's only natural." He said as he dodged her angry fist. "Wait! You were born in the wrong body!" He started laughing again before he punched her out. "Guess what? Nothing is gonna change your body." He growled. "Pick up and delivery for the sun!" Roadburner growled as Arcee walked up with Hades slung over her shoulder. "That was a close one, Partner." Roadburner scratched the back of his helm as the Groundbridge opened shakily. Roadburner and Arcee calmly threw their payloads in. "Three down. Ten to go." Arcee said tiredly. Jack smiled and kissed her. When they parted, Jack smiled at her. "I could really use some High Grade back at base." Arcee simply nodded in agreement, and the duo rode back to Base.

Back at Base, Percy was pacing the floor in worry as he waited for Ms. Darby to finish checking on Thalia. When the nurse came in, Percy's heart stopped and he thought, _She's dead!_ The woman noticed him and smiled. "She's fine, but she's weak. I wouldn't bother her too much." Percy nodded. Then, he saw the flash of a puzzled look on the woman's face. " She asked about a food and drink called 'Ambrosia' and 'Nectar'. Do you know what she's talking about?" The demigod nodded and walked into the room. Thalia smiled at him. The smile calmed Percy down and relaxed him as his worry slowly ebbed away. He showed her a sandwich bag of Ambrosia squares, knelt by the bed, and started to feed her pieces of the godly confection. "Looks like we got mixed up in another war." He said with a small smile.

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	9. Decontaminated Defender

Chapter Nine: Decontaminated Defender

As soon as Jack set a ped back in back in base, he began to sway. His servo shot to his helm, and the young mech fell like a giant Redwood. Inside Jack's processor, an Ancient Power spoke to him and called to his Spark. "Jackson Darby, I would speak with you. There is something urgent that must be done before you face the rest of my brother's infernal creations." The voice boomed in Jack's adios. The power that radiated off of the Eternal One's words as he spoke them made Jack squeeze his optics shut as panic began to rise in the mech's processor. The voice of this being made Jack want to run because he knew something was wrong with his Spark, but the voice was also gentle. In words, the voice was a paradox of gentleness and all power. Jack finally found the courage to open his optics and saw he was back at the Vector Sigma chamber, but this time, Jack reeled back as the Spark of Primus rose out of its chamber to meet Jack. Beautiful, rune-like rings spun around the bright blue core of Primus' Spark.

Jack was amazed at the majesty of this unbelievable sight and just stood awestruck as the light from Primus' Spark covered the mech. A searing pain started in Jack's chest as the light reached the tip of his peds. Jack felt pain throw him to his knees. Jack looked at Primus' Spark as fear and dread showed themselves in the mech's optics. "Why?!" Jack groaned out. The spinning ball of Primus's Spark shot out a beam. Under this beam, the purple of Dark Energon stood out as a dark blotch that showed through Jack's chest plating and began to burn its way to the surface of Jack's chest. "Your time on Earth gave you a small portion of Unicron's blood. When I created your people along with The Thirteen long ago, Unicron's evil didn't exist in your kind. He made a river of Dark Energon bubble to the surface, and once humans drank from it, they became tainted and began to die." A question flashed in Jack's mind. Before he could ask, Primus' voice answered him. "For those who consumed only the toxin and nothing more, the poison empowered them and gave them rule over certain parts of Unicron's body." Jack thought about the Primordial's of Greek Myth and shivered at the thought that he had the same taint within his own body.

"Yesss, child," A voice lulled in Jack's mind. "I exist even in you." Unicron laughed. "As my vassal, you SHALL destroy all of Primus' children!" The mech felt his processor grow clouded as Unicron attempted to take Jack's body for a joyride. "Jack, you must fight." Primus called with a hint of concern for the mech in the Creator's voice as it softly called to Jack's aid. At the voice of his superior, Unicron raced toward Jack's venerable Spark. "I will make you destroy your sister," Unicron boasted. "Then, I will make you destroy your family, both human and Cybertronian." Jack's ire began to boil, but Unicron was not done just yet. "As a final pain, I will make you run your blade through Arcee's Spark!" Once Jack heard the threat to Arcee, he found new strength. The young mech's optic's blazed with light. He growled and fought against Unicron's tight grip with new power. "I don't believe you have a claim to me anymore, Unicron!" Jack roared. There was a bright flash. Then, Unicron's presence fled from Jack. The mech fell to the floor of the Vector Sigma chamber in complete exhaustion after his brawl with The Destroyer.

"It is done!" Primus' voice boomed through the chamber with clear happiness in his tone. "Awaken, no more Jackson Darby but rise as Roadburner, My Defender." Roadburner slowly got to his peds with a groan. "He has some punch." Roadburner said with a weak smile. The mech couldn't see Primus but knew the deity smiled at that moment. "I will warn you. The road ahead won't be easy, but my word is law. I will be brought back from my recharge by your sister and her Sparkmate. First, you and Arcee must Bond fully and clear the current threats to my return. Do not fear, my son. All will be well." Roadburner blinked his optics at the spinning rings of Primus' Spark. "What do you mean to say, Lord Primus?" Roadburner asked with a confused expression on his faceplate. "Arcee and I are already Bonded." Roadburner protested. "Because of the Dark Energon formerly in your body, you could not Bond with Arcee to the fullest extent." Roadburner looked at the Cybertronian Creator with a mix of hurt and bewilderment on his face. "I did not allow the Bond to be complete in order to keep Unicron from infecting her as well as you, Roadburner." Roadburner nodded in understanding. "Know my blessing is on your Bond, Roadburner, your True Bond." As Primus told him that, the scene changed as Roadburner felt his consciousness return to Earth.

The mech woke with a start and sat up quickly. He looked around to find everyone in the base looking at him with worry plain on their faces. Ratchet's servos steadied Roadburner as the mech swung his legs over the side of the berth. "Easy, Jack. You've been in stasis for a week." Roadburner's optics widened. "What happened, Jack?" Ratchet questioned with anxiety in his voice. Roadburner shook his helm and laughed lightly to himself. Then, he looked at the medic. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, docbot." It was Ratchet's turn to be surprised. _Jack's always called me 'Ratchet'._ The medic thought. _Only bots call me 'docbot'_. Arcee smiled and walked over to the young mech. Roadburner let out a vent of relief because he believed Arcee wasn't mad at him. The femme quickly proved him wrong however. She glared and slapped him hard enough that the mech's helm shot to the side. "For a week, Jackson Darby, a fragging week, I thought you went to the Well!" She then kissed him as Energon tears ran down her silver cheeks. "I'm glad you're back."

About that…" Roadburner began nervously as he scratched the back of his helm. "It's not entirely lying to say I went to the Well." Arcee and the rest of the bots gasped, but Miko and Raf looked a little confused. "I almost offlined, but before I start…" He looked around for Thalia, Percy, and Grover. "Where are the demigods? This involves their parents." Percy and Thalia waved at Roadburner from the human area. Once he was sure everyone was listening, Roadburner began his story. "Primus said he created humans AND Cybertronians alike. Desiring to pollute Primus' organic creations into a mockery of the Thirteen, Unicron caused a river of Dark Energon to well up on the surface of Earth. Originally, Primus created humans to be immortal like him, but once humans began to drink from the river, the Dark Energon slowly killed them. Those humans who consumed only Dark Energon to sustain themselves gained control over portions of Unicron's body, the beings became known as the gods of Greek Myth." Percy and Thalia were stunned by this news, but Roadburner continued.

"All humans have the taint of Dark Energon within them," Roadburner said. "That's why humans are immune to it in small quantities." Arcee glared at him. "Why was our Bond nullified?!" She growled. "Is Primus upset that I wish to Bond with a former human?" Roadburner blushed heavily. "If Primus had allowed us to Bond completely, the Dark Energon that was in my chassis would have, sooner or later, infected you, Arcee." Roadburner said with a sad tone. Then, the mech's faceplate brightened. "Primus purged me of the Dark Energon. Speaking of that…" He whispered what Primus told him about affirming a True Bond into Arcee's audio. Upon hearing a redo was all but ordered by Primus Himself, Arcee grinned devilishly at what that meant and quickly excused herself and Roadburner.

On the _Nemesis_ ', Megatron's jet mode transformed, and the weight of his heavy chassis landed with a loud thud. "That Beast will pay for trying to extinguish my Spark!" Megatron growled as steam even now continued to roll off his chassis. The Vehicon drones stayed well clear of their master's rage. There was a pool going among the Decepticon officers as to whether or not Megatron was truly a mech. His rapid mood swings, oversized chestplate, and overdone compensation when his status as a mech was put into question all were pointed to as evidence that Megatron had a valve under his pelvic plating instead of a spike. I bring up this internal debate within the Decepticon ranks because Megatron's pride as a warrior and mech was severely wounded. If his compensation never showed before, it definitely showed now.

"Knockout!" Megatron roared over his comm. "Yes, La- *ahem* Lord Megatron?" Knockout was thankful Megatron did not appear to catch the medic's slip and vented a silent sigh of relief. "I require your medical assistance. My armor has shrunk somewhat." Knockout's optics went wide as well as a grin on the medic's faceplate. The mech could almost taste his share of the Energon rations in the wager as he walked to where Megatron was currently. When Knockout saw Megatron, the medic couldn't believe what his optics relayed back to his processor. The Lord of the Decepticons looked more like The _Lady_ of the Decepticons! The Gladiator's body was attractively shapely with curves in all the right places. When Megatron noticed Knockout staring, he- although use of the pronoun "he" seemed a bit questionable at this certain time- glared hard at the medic. "What are you staring at? Don't just stand there! Fix my armor!" When Knockout started to remove the chestplate because it seemed to be the only shrunken piece, Megatron almost blasted him. "If you are not competent enough to fix my armor without removing it, get me a replacement before I send you to the Well myself and replace you with a medic who is skilled enough to work with my demands!" Knockout shivered and walked off. When he was far enough away to be sure he couldn't be seen, Knockout grinned. _I can add "diva" to the list of femme qualities Megatron has._

As Megatron waited for Knockout to return with the replacement, his processor considered what would be the best way to draw out the Predicon halfling. A scratchy voice inside Megatron's head seemed to smile at the warlord. _You clean up nice, for a femme!_ Megatronwas instantly furious. "Show yourself and fight like a bot, coward!" The voice in Megatron's headlaughed darkly. _I can draw her to you, Megatron. You can have vengeance while I stop_ _Primus and prevent his resurgence!_

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	10. Knight of Cybertron

**Author's Note: I decided to add a character from the Roman Camp. I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter Ten: Knight of Cybertron

Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, could not sleep for the past few days, and the lack of sleep was wearing on him. The Roman demigod sighed, looked into the water of the Little Tiber, rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he looked over the valley where New Rome was neatly nestled, and took a deep breath to try and relax in the coolness of the morning. "Somnia, what do your visions mean?" Jason mumbled as he continued to look into the water in thought.

It had been ages since Jason saw his sister, Thalia. In spite of this, he could see her plain as day whenever he closed his eyes recently. As time passed, Jason became more and more restless over the dreams. He saw Thalia and another Greek demigod as they sat on a couch in a giant room with three other people in the room. Two were definitely full mortals, but the dark-haired teen that was the tallest out of the three strangers was strange. He exuded power, so much so that whenever Jason turned his mind to the teenager, he could not figure out what the boy was. The person's aura was stronger than a mortal's and made him flinch in fear. Then, Jason turned his gaze to the creature's eyes. They clicked and whined as motors moved the various parts of a clearly mechanical optic. _Why would one of Vulcan's automatons keep my sister prisoner?_ Jason asked in his mind as he stood. It was settled. The Son of Jupiter could no longer wait. _I will probably face punishment for breaking Roman law by not consulting the auguries before he left for a quest, but screw Octavian. He's an ass anyway, and my sister needs me._ Jason told himself as he packed a change of clothes and essentials along with his trusted coin given by his father. Then, the Son of Jupiter left New Rome in search of his sister.

Meanwhile, Miko and Percy traded battle stories in the lounge area of Omega One. "So, you defeated a three-headed puppy with a chew toy. That's nothing! I faced Soundwave himself and didn't back down." Raf sighed and shook his head. Then, the boy-genius corrected her without stopping on his laptop. "You faced one of his tentacles AND, may I add, gave the Spymaster what...he needed to finish the job!" Percy and Miko looked over at Raf. Percy had not known Raphael Esquivel long, but he knew the child was not easily given to anger. Percy walked up and looked at Raf. "You ok?" Percy asked as he slowly approached the boy. "I'm ok, Percy. It's just…I haven't been sleeping well." Percy nodded. "Want to talk?" He asked gently. "I don't think you would understand…" Percy couldn't help laughing. He pointed to Grover who was happily munching on a tin can. "One time, I dreamed Grover was captured by the Cyclops Polyphemus and that the Cyclops wanted to marry him." Raf made a face. Percy nodded, "…wedding dress and all." Raf smiled and almost fell out of his chair because he started laughing so hard.

Percy put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "All gender-confused satyrs aside, what's the dream that keeps you from sleeping?" Raphael pulled up a picture of Soundwave from the base's data files to give Percy a reference angle. "My Mom and Dad split when I was about three. Mom doesn't talk about him much, but when she does…" Raf smiled sadly. "…she becomes happy again for the briefest amount of time." Percy nodded. "Sounds like my Mom when she talks about Dad." Percy said kindly. Raf had an idea at the mention of Poseidon. "Do you think my dad's a god?" Percy shook his head. "You don't have Dyslexia or ADHD, so I don't think so." Raf's face fell at this. Percy smiled. "Being a demigod isn't all it's cracked up to be." He said with a sigh. Percy then motioned for Raf to continue, "…your dream?" Raf nodded. "I'm the same age I was when Dad left. He and Mom are talking. She seems very upset. I hear Dad: 'I have to go. My boss will have my head if he finds out about you and Raphael.'" At this point, Percy noticed that Raf visibly shivered. "For some reason, Megatron's face fills my vision. Then, the scene goes back to Mom and Dad." Raf suddenly blinked, and his eyes went wide as a realization slammed into the boy. "She tells Dad, 'By Primus, be safe, Derek.' Dad hugs her and runs away. Then, the last things I hear are tools being used and screams. Then, I start awake with that…" He pointed to Soundwave's visor. "…image in my head."

Miko jumped up and looked at Raf once the boy finished his dream. "It would make sense for you and The Faceless Mech to be related." Raf raised his hand to slap her. "Woah. Raf, easy! Hear me out!" The Asian girl said as she quickly raised her hands in defense. "You are both quiet geniuses and have the spirit of a fighter that few ever get to see." Raf's eyes widened. "Wow, Miko. That was deep." Raf commented. She waved it off. "Yeah whatever…Bulk and I are going out for target practice." Percy rolled his eyes. "Just don't do anything stupid." Percy yelled admonishingly after the girl as Miko ran to find Bulkhead.

In the data hub of _The Nemesis_ , Soundwave found himself thinking of the family he would never see again. He kept at his work of monitoring all sources of communication, but that took relatively little processing power to accomplish. To occupy the rest of his processor, Soundwave ordered his faithful drone Laserbeak to check in on Rosa. As always, Soundwave initiated the failsafe program "Knight of Cybertron" just in case Laserbeak found Rafael. Something curious was going on with the mech's son, and Soundwave was surprised when he found Raf in the humans' primitive telescope array keeping his master away from Cybertron. Soundwave didn't want to ruin his chances with the boy when they were reunited someday, so Soundwave completed his mission without harming Raf or his companions. Soundwave made a mental side note as he considered the events of that day. _That human femme either has a wire loose or is a processorless mech with a wish to go offline._ He shrugged and chose the former option.

Jason sighed as he jumped off the back of a truck and slung his pack over his shoulder a few hours after he left New Rome. He looked over and tried to read the sign that led into town, but his Dyslexia wouldn't let him. Jason cursed and looked around for someone to perhaps tell him where he was. Instead, Jason saw a guy with a nice car harassing a smaller kid. The Roman's gaze grew dark as he walked up to the bully. "Leave the kid alone, asshole!" Jason ordered. Vince looked up at the newcomer and sneered. "What do you want, Fresh Meat?" Jason's eyes sparked with anger, and he grabbed Vice by the collar. "Leave. The kid. Alone!" Jason repeated with a stone glare. Vince nodded, and Jason threw him to the ground in anger. Jason then turned to the kid. He had spiky hair and square glasses. Jason offered a hand. "Are you alright?" The boy nodded, gratefully accepted the hand up, and stood. "That's just the local bully, Vince." The boy smiled and offered a hand. "I'm Raf." He said with a smile. "Jason…" The Roman said as he took the handshake.

As Vince ran off, Laserbeak flew by on its way to Rosa's house and recorded the conversation from Jason and Raf as it went. Megatron smiled. He put a tracer on Soundwave's beloved pet right after Knockout finished "upgrading" his Spymaster. "Without their smallest pet, the Autobots will be much slower in countering my plans." She said with a twisted smile. "When Soundwave's pet goes to that worm's home, it will trigger a Groundbridge of troops to those coordinates." Megatron couldn't wait for Soundwave to be broken again. It made her limbs shake with euphoria at the sound of the mech's screams before he was silenced, and she definitely wanted to feel that pleasure jolt through her systems again.

As Jason and Raf came to his house, Rosa smiled at the sight of her son and a guest. She quickly noticed the older boy looked like he just came into town from a long trip and instantly glared at him. "Young man, I will not have you eating in a state like that." Jason tried to protest. "Thanks, ma'am, but…" Raf smiled. "It would be easier to just listen, Jason." Jason was about to ask where the bathroom was when a strange purring met their ears. "Laserbeak…" Raf mumbled, but he wasn't sure how he knew because Raf had never seen Soundwave's personal drone. Raf's eyes narrowed and he felt a dormant part of himself wake up as he focused on the drone.

At that moment, Raf heard the familiar sound of a Groundbridge and said, "Slag it to the Pit!" As Raf cursed, a band of Vehicons stormed through the Groundbridge. Rosa stood petrified as she whispered, "The monster found us!" Jason glared at the giant Cons and brandished his sword without a hint of nerves. Raf was about to run when Laserbeak did something Raphael never expected. Laserbeak split in two like a microbe! The copy flew to Raf and attached itself to his chest as the original flew back to Soundwave. Then, the Laserbeak clone expanded over Raf to reveal a purple armor reminiscent of Medieval plate armor with one key difference. The helmet was a smaller version of Soundwave's. Raf smiled under his visor and lit into the poor Vehicons with a rage unmatched for one so small. The boy jumped, punched and blasted his way into the terror stricken processors of the drones until none were left online. Jason just stared at the carnage the boy unleashed in shock as his sword hit the floor with a loud *clag!* Raf mentally ordered the helmet to recede into the suit and smiled at his Mom. "Raf, I think you and I need to talk." Rosa told him. "We can talk at the Bot's base. It's not safe here." Raf suggested. That's when the boy heard Bumblebee in his helmet. " _Are you ok?!"_ The Scout asked frantically. "I'm better than ok, Bee." He said as he walked out of the house with Rosa and Jason. Bee was instantly pissed off at the sight of Raf who he almost blasted because of the armor's color scheme. " _WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN CON ARMOR?!"_ Raf held up his hands. "I promise to explain on the way to Base."

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	11. Family Ties

Chapter Eleven: Family Ties

Raf was a bundle of nerves as he sat in the back of Bumblebee's alternate mode with Rosa beside him and Jason in the front passenger seat. The boy quietly fiddled with his toy racer. The boy's fingers split into thousands of hair-like projections and manipulated the remote control car on a level that no other person could manage. Raf could feel the various wires and circuits of the car and silently upgraded the car's components. As the boy finished upgrading his car, a small smile passed his lips. The racer now had a frequency remote link with his suit and could give a full size Bugatii Vayron a run for its money. With its current modifications, the boy calculated his car's top speed at just shy of 300 miles an hour.

When Raf chuckled with a grin on his face, Bee beeped a question: "(What is it, Raf?)" The boy smiled at Bumblebee's dash. "My car is now a scout drone." The boy said with a proud smile Rosa gave her son a confused look. "Bumblebee, would you pull over for a second please?" Raf said as Bee asked, "(Why? Are you ok?)" Raf smiled. "I'm fine," he said with a smile. "I just want to show you and Mom something." Bee listened to his friend and went to the side of the road in confusion. Raf sat his car on the pavement but didn't pick up the remote like Bee expected. Instead, the boy closed his eyes and said, "Link start!" The boy's eyes showed small circuits in them that lit up at the command. Then, the toy car shot off in a cloud of dust as Rosa's mouth formed a smile while Jason's jaw fell away in shock at the speed of the toy car.

Ratchet was worried. Bumblebee did not report in with Raphael and his mother yet, and the grumpy medic did not want to think about what that could mean. "Optimus." he called with worry in his voice. "What is it, old friend?" Optimus' baritone voice responded to the call. "I fear Raphael and his mother were captured by the Decepticons." Optimus' optics widened. "Why?" Ratchet responded by pulling up a map of Jasper. "I detected a Decepticon Groundbridge signal at the boy's house, and Bumblebee has not reported back yet." Optimus put a servo on the medic's shoulder plate. "Calm yourself. We must be…" Optimus trailed off as both mechs heard the high pitched whine of Raf's signature remote controlled Bumblebee model car.

When the car rode up to them and stopped at Optimus' peds with no sign of the boy operator, Ratchet looked at the vehicle with a perplexed expression. "The remote has a very limited radio transmission range. What's going on here?" Optimus smiled and offered his thoughts. "The boy could have upgraded his remote to extend range." That's when the car did something neither expected. It transformed into a bot and climbed its way up Ratchet's arm to his shoulder plate! Ratchet raised a servo to swat the thing when it held up its servos. "Ratchet, don't!" Raf's voice yelled out from the little bot. Ratchet was so stunned that he glitched and fell back with a loud crash that brought Miko, Roadburner, Percy, and Thalia running. Miko and Percy couldn't control their laugher at the sight of the down medic. "What happened to him?" Jack asked as he looked up at Optimus with a worried look in his optics. A distorted voice from behind the group answered the mech's question calmly. "I happened." It was then when Miko noticed the small bot that started running, jumped, and transformed. A bot that looked like a smaller Soundwave with a more human body type calmly picked up the drone with an apparent blank expression because of his visor as a woman followed the small mech, and finally, Bee took the rear and walked in after the others.

Roadburner pointed his blasters at the small mech. Raf smiled under his visor, put the drone in a Subspace compartment, and glared at the large red bot. Then, Raf jumped and kicked Roadburner's chestplate hard enough to send the mech to the floor. Raf landed on Roadburner's chestplate with a glare and disengaged his helm. Roadburner's optics widened. "Raf?!" The boy smiled. "I wouldn't point blasters at my Mom. A band of Cons tried that, and I sent them to the scrapheap myself, Jack." Raf warned calmly before he jumped off of Jack and let the mech get back to his peds. Then, Raf looked up at Optimus with fear in his eyes. "Optimus, I…" The smallest of Team Prime tried to explain, but the words died in Raf's throat when Optimus held up a servo. "You thought your carrier was in danger and acted to protect her. That is commendable, youngling. However, I would advise restraint next time, Raphael." Prime admonished in a fatherly way.

Jason was relieved when he looked around and saw Thalia. Then, he saw the other demigod, a satyr, and the other girl the Greek boy was talking with. Thalia saw her brother and panicked. She went white as a sheet and mumbled, "Roma…" Percy glared at Jason. He remembered how the Roman's treated Neptune, his father's Roman aspect, and was still a bit sore on the subject. Grover felt the tension mounting and quickly jumped between the two. "Percy, calm down. There is no war here." Grover bleated in fear. He had seen Percy angry. Add to that a Roman son of Jupiter, and you could get a NASTY battle. Something in Grover told him that Gaia, no Unicron, Grover had to remind himself, was influencing the demigods and trying to get them to kill each other.

Grover silently thanked the Cybertronian god Primus when a message ping from Ratchet's station defused the tension. "A high frequency signal is coming in with an embedded message." Bulkhead groaned as Miko looked up from his servo. "Starscream?" Bulkhead asked with an annoyed tone. Ratchet shook his helm. "It's…*gasp!* Soundwave?!" Ratchet along with the rest of the bots was nonplused. Miko and Raf looked at each other and grinned. Arcee glared at the screen. "This screams trap. I say we let him fry!" Raf was deeply hurt when the blue femme said that, but he understood why she said it. The bots had no reason to trust Megatron's seemingly most loyal soldier. Optimus looked at Arcee. "Let us see what Soundwave wants before we consider a course of action, Arcee." He turned to Ratchet. "What does he want, Old Friend?" Ratchet could barely speak as he read the message to the group. "I seek sanctuary. Megatron seeks to hunt Raphael and his mother because of my 'treacherous actions' in the processor damaged femme's own words." Ratchet stopped reading as all optics in the room trained on Raf.

"Did you really think that I could understand Bee 'just because'?" Raf asked with a shrug and a light glare of hurt at their reaction to the truth of his parentage. "…and did Dad refer to Megatron as a femme?" Optimus sighed and looked at Team Prime. "Yes, Raphael. Megatronus is a femme." A round of gasps spread through the base, but grumpy Ratchet would not have it. "If you are quite done marveling over the realization of Megatron's true frame, I'd like to continue reading!" Roadburner chuckled. "Easy, Hatchet. Don't bust an O ring." Ratchet turned back to the screen and continued to read. "Meet me at these coordinates. I promise. No harm shall come to you Autobots." Ratchet turned again to Optimus. "Then, he gives coordinates."

Optimus nodded. "We will move out." Bee walked up to Optimus with an angry look in his optics. "(All of you clearly don't trust Raf because of his sire.)" Bee turned to Ratchet. "(Warm up the Groundbridge, Ratchet.)" Bumblebee told the medic with an angry look. "(Raf and I will meet Soundwave alone, so no Sparks are on the line besides mine!)" Bee told his fellow Autobots as he opened his passenger door for Raf who quickly got in. "Why are you so angry, Bee?" Raf asked in worry over his friend and guardian. "(After all the scrap you have helped us out of, they turn their back on your chance to reunite with your sire just because of whom he is?)" Bee vented angrily. "(That's fragging slag!)"

On the other side of the Bridge, Soundwave was nervous. It had been so long. Would Raf accept him, now that he knew the truth about who his father really was or leave him to the claws of that burned out spawn of Unicron femme from The Pit? Soundwave looked up at the sound of Groundbridge activation and was surprised to see only the Autobot scout Bumblebee. _Where are the others?_ Soundwave thought in confusion. Bee let Raf out and the boy cautiously walked up to him. Clearly he was nervous about the whole situation, and who could blame the youngling? Here he was walking up to a giant robot that claimed to be his father and was working for his friend's enemy. Raf looked up at his father and a myriad of ERROR Codes scrawled across his vision in Cybertronian script. "What did Megatron do to you, Dad?" Raf mumbled to himself. "Your systems look like scrap." Soundwave looked down at Raf, and the boy could tell it was meant to be an unspoken reprimand about language. Raphael blushed and ordered his fingers to split like they did when Raf upgraded his racer. From there, Raf let the wires link to his father's systems. Then, one by one, Raphael cleared up the errors. When the last ERROR Code cleared, Soundwave's iconic visor fell away to show shinning blue optics and a smile on the father's faceplate. "Thank you, son." Soundwave said with tears in his optics.

Raf simply nodded and turned back to go through the Groundbridge again when he heard a unit of Vehicon jets coming toward them. "Raf looked at his father. "She just can't take a hint." Raf growled as he and Bumblebee powered up their blasters. Soundwave frowned. "No, she can't. You took the digital shackles off my blaster subroutines, right?" Raf just smiled. "Have at them, Dad." Soundwave chuckled and his left servo transformed into a resonance blaster. Soundwave fired a sonic blast at the jet formation and three out of the six turned into balls of fire on contact with the resonance waves. Bumblebee beeped out a response in shock. "(So, Soundwave…)" Soundwave rolled his optics. "…is not an ironic reference to my former mute state but to my blasters." Soundwave's face grew stricken with the pain of a memory. "They're so powerful Megatron had Knockout deactivated when I was reformatted by Knockout to keep her processor at ease." The trio looked around. "(Looks like we're done here.)" Bee said with a smile. Raf mentally called a Groundbridge back to Omega One. "Let's catch up back at Base." Raf suggested. Soundwave nodded with a smile as he thought, _Like father, like son._

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	12. A Brother's Test and a Father's Trial

Chapter Twelve: A Brother's Test and a Father's Trial

Back at base, everyone was in a mild state of shock. Raf was never so strong willed. When the Groundbridge opened again, Soundwave walked through first, followed by Bee, and finally Raf brought Up the rear. "That was relaxing." Raf said with a chuckle as he deactivated his blasters and helmet. Soundwave shook his helm. "You could do a much better job with these systems, Hatchet." Soundwave's optics gleamed with mirth. "Then, again your expertise is in Cybertronian medicine, not computer science, and the two only overlap so far, especially when dealing with human computers." Soundwave extended his tendrils and got to work upgrading the human operating system of the base's mainframe. Soundwave turned to his son and smiled. "I see you've done what you could, Raf. I'm proud." He told the boy as lines of code flashed by Soundwave's optics. "Huh…" he said suddenly as Soundwave started to dig into forgotten files from the Base's days as a missile silo. _It seems the humans who monitored this silo watched a lot of human interfacing to pass the time._ Soundwave thought as he repaired the various systems damaged by viral attacks from the carelessness of the previous owners.

Ratchet was none too pleased to have the Decepticon Spymaster rooting around in their main systems. "Optimus," the Medic growled out in a barely contained whisper. "I do not think it is wise to let Soundwave have free rein in our mainframe!" Optimus gave his old friend a mild glare which surprised the Medic. "Ratchet, we did not capture Soundwave. He came to us willingly in the interest of protecting his son." Optimus reminded Ratchet. "With Raphael's life in the balance if he betrayed Megatron, I don't think Soundwave would act out a rashly concocted scheme against his master just to gain an edge." Optimus said. He tried to sound diplomatic, but there was a faint hint of irritation in Prime's voice as he spoke to his Chief Medical Officer. "It is my judgment that Soundwave has truly defected from the Decepticons to defend his family. Any thoughts otherwise will not be tolerated. Is that understood, Ratchet?" Optimus asked calmly. Ratchet nodded but struggled with the idea of trusting Soundwave nonetheless.

"What are the odds that all three of us are techno-organics?!" Miko asked in her always energetic and loud way. Raf chuckled. "That's like asking 'What are the odds the Autobots and Cons land on our world and not some distant hell hole?'" Raf said with a grin. "It's best not to question these things, Miko." Jason smiled at the group. "Mind if I join in?" He asked with a kind expression. "No problem." Raf told Jason as he slid over to give the Roman a place to sit. "This is all so bizarre." Jason said. Miko raised an eyebrow. "This is coming from a son of the Roman Sky God?" She mumbled with a frown. He shrugged. "I guess you're right to a point, but it's still a shock to find Lady Terra is really an alien demon." He said. Jason then looked around. "Where-" Jason's question was cut short as the base shook. "I have my answer." Jason mumbled to himself. "Where's the training area?" He asked. Miko giggled and pointed behind her to the left. Jason simply nodded and followed Miko's direction.

In the training room, Percy and Thalia dueled it out with each other. It would remind an outside observer of anime sword fights. The strikes were fast and lethal, but in power and strength, the two fighters were evenly matched with their blows. Percy and Thalia grinned as they knocked each other away in yet another clash. "I-is that…all you got, Thales?" Percy asked with a grin as his shoulders rose and fell in rhythm with his breathing. Thalia wiped sweat from her brow and stared Percy down. "I'm just getting started." She told him as her muscles tensed in preparation for another charge. Outside, Jason smiled and ran through various simulated targets while he tried to decide which would be best to test the strength of his sister and the Greek as a team. Then, Jason's face grew into a smile as he selected the one he thought most appropriate.

Percy and Thalia were recovering when they heard a deep and threatening laugh rumble from the ground. "Shit! Thalia, get back!" Percy yelled in fear as the laugh grew louder until a towering figure of rock that vaguely looked Cybertronian but was massive even by their standards. The clincher however for Percy was the creature's purple optics. "Unicron…" Percy growled as the grip on Riptide's hilt tightened at the sight of the simulation. Thalia glared at the monster. "Well, Percy," Thalia said with a grin. "Shall we?" Percy's face turned hard as steel as the Son of the Sea turned and nodded at the Daughter of the Sky.

Miko ran out of the room. "Thalia and Percy are fighting Unicron!" Helms and heads turned to the Asian teen. Then, bot, techno-organic, and even satyr joined her in the viewing area. As the group watched, they saw Thalia and Percy attack the simulated Unicron with the synchronization, power, and terror of a hurricane. They moved as one against their target. When one slowed the other picked up the slack. Then, the pair was thrown back by a monstrous backhand. As quickly as Percy and Thalia hit the ground, they came back at the simulation with all hints of holding back gone. Percy and Thalia glared at it, and summoned their respective full powers against it. Between the torrential rains and lightning bolts, the simulated Unicron fell quickly but Percy and Thalia didn't stop until it was completely vanquished. _Well done,_ Jason thought with a small smile. _Perhaps you are worthy of my sister._

Soundwave was impressed with the humans' strength. From what Soundwave read about the Chaos Bringer that was a feat, even against a simulation. He smiled. That strength is what made him fall for Rosa in the first place. Soundwave suddenly felt a stab of pain in his helm and was sent to his knees by the pain. "Did you think you could escape me that easily, Soundwave?" Soundwave's jaw clinched. "I had Knockout install a neural override unit just in case you betrayed me again. Enjoy watching your son die at your own servos!" Megatron said to him as Soundwave felt his body stand at attention. "Get. Raphael. Out!" Soundwave pleaded with pain in his voice. "Slag it! She T3ed us!" Raphael yelled. "Ratchet, prep sick bay now!" The boy ordered. "Roadburner, Bulkhead, and Miko restrain him!" Raphael ordered as the boy hacked into his father's processor and tried to locate the firmware chip and isolate its yelled out in victory when he temporarily blocked the chip's signal. "Ratchet, you have to act fast and remove the chip!" Raf told the Medic as he uploaded a target cross on top of the chip into Ratchet's HUD. "You three…" Ratchet motioned to the three bots holding Soundwave's limp cchassis "…put him on the table now." Once the bots did as instructed, Ratchet quickly induced stasis.

As soon as Soundwave went under, the mech found himself in the gladiatorial arena in Kaon. Megatron laughed at the Spymaster. "Is that mech youngling so important to you, Soundwave? You, my most loyal soldier, would betray me and not destroy that slag smear and his glitch of a carrier." Soundwave said nothing, but the Spymaster could almost feel his Energon boil in its tubes. Soundwave glared with deadly determination at his former taskmaster. _All this talk is coming from a glitch who lost her processor and destroyed her homeworld because a mech rejected her, and she has the nerve to call my Sparkmate a glitch?_ Soundwave thought as he struggled to contain his rage until the right moment. Suddenly, Megatron charged. Soundwave almost laughed. "Predicable…" The Spymaster mumbled as he sidestepped his attacker's charge, grabbed her by the neck, and threw Megatron down. Megatron caught the ground with her peds and executed a flip away from Soundwave. The mech closed the gap between them quickly and sent his right bladed arm into Megatron's chest plate. Megatron grabbed the arm as Soundwave drew it back and twisted. The alloy of Soundwave's arm groaned in protest, but Soundwave managed to hold back the scream of pain that fought for freedom. He would not give the twisted femme the satisfaction of hearing him scream. Instead, Soundwave gave Megatron a point blank resonance blast from his free servo. The blast sent Megatron flying and gave Soundwave time to reset his mangled limb. Then, Soundwave ran at Megatron while she was still disoriented from the close range sonic assault. "You want me, Megatron? You got me!" He growled as he began to kick and slice at the monster. "You can pick on me all you want, but you cross a line of no return when you mess with or insult my family!" Soundwave growled as he picked up Megatron in one servo above his helm and gave her a spine chilling glare. "If I find your sorry valve aft in my processor again, I'm going to rip out your Spark personally! ¡¿Compende?!" With that, Soundwave threw Megatron in the air, funneled all the power he could muster into his sonic blasters, and fired.

When Soundwave was roused from stasis, he groaned and sat up slowly. "Dad…" Raf said timidly as Ratchet gently lowered the boy onto the Beth to be closer to Soundwave. "…even in stasis you thrashed around quite a bit. Are you alright?" Soundwave looked down at the worried boy. "I just had an old fashioned grudge match with Megatron. She wasn't going to leave my processor without a fight." He said with a vent. "I managed to beat her though." He said with a grin. He looked over and noticed everyone was looking at him, even June and Optimus. To ease the tension a bit, you know? Jack's got Arcee. Miko's got Bulkhead. By the Pit, June even managed to snag Mister Stoic himself. We have to find you a nice femme." Raf turned red at this. "Dad, you sound sound just like Mom, albeit without the Spanish accent!" The boy said in protest as the whole room erupted into laughter.

Despite this jovial atmosphere, below the Earth, the destruction of three of his most powerful creations caused Unicron to begin to stir within the confines of his main body as the Earth's core, small twitches that were being registered as micro quakes all over the world, nothing to worry over yet, but it certainly left a few scientists scratching their heads as they looked over the data from various seismographs. From the core, rumbled a sleep-laden voice, "Followers of Primus, you're destruction shall be swift and sure."

 **Please Read and Review. Author's Note: "T3ed us" is a reference to "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" when the TX corrupts the T-800's system to try and force it to kill John Connor.**


	13. Final Fight

Chapter Thirteen: Final Fight

Jack sighed as his holoform tossed and turned in his bed that night. Something kept Jack from being able to power down. He kept hearing an old bot kind voice in his head. "Young mech, I am Alpha Trion, and I am to warn you. Unicron awakens. Three of his creations have been destroyed by your own servo. Unfortunately, these victories stir their progenitor. He will reawaken in two days time if you do not extinguish his Dark Spark between now and that time. Defender of Primus, time grows short for me, but after Unicron's Spark is extinguished, The Gate and Key must return to Cybertron and revive Primus." He told Jack. "Good luck, Defender."

Jack sighed and got out of his bed, sleep a fruitless endeavor. "Arcee, you up?" Jack mumbled. Arcee sighed from the garage and groaned. "Want to go on a drive?" She suggested. Jack sighed and disabled his holoform. "Yeah, did you get a message from Alpha Trion?" Arcee looked at Jack in shock. "What did you say?" She asked. "Alpha Trion talked to me. He says we're on a deadline." As they rode out, Sadie looked over at Jack. "Let me guess." She told him. "We have just under two solar cycles left?" Jack sighed and simply nodded. "We need to find the Gate of Death." He said with a sigh. Arcee's chassis shivered. "Why do I get the feeling we're going to the Pit?" Jack cured their Bond. "I was going to tell you when we got closer, but we're going to have to do exactly that." He told her with a shiver of his own. "They're in California under the name of DOA Studios, but Charon will make it difficult without Drachmas." When Arcee gave him an odd look, Jack explained, "Solid gold currency of the Greek gods…" She laughed. "We'll just knock politely, then." Jack nodded with a devious smile. "I was hoping you would say that."

When the Cybertronians got to DOA Studios, they looked at each other, activated their holoforms, and held hands as they walked in and saw the Dead all over the waiting area. Jack let out a small laugh when he saw Charon. "I was expecting a Grim Reaper, not a guy in an Italian suit." Charon looked up at Jack's comment. "Jack Darby," He flipped through a book and sighed, "A little early, aren't you?" Sadie worked up a blush. "It's my fault…" She stopped, and Jack could tell she was looking something up on the web. "…I was giving my boyfriend road head from my bike when we crashed." Charon's eyeless sockets widened. "*ahem* That's certainly a unique way to wind up in Hades." He told them. "Follow me, please." Chiron said with a sigh as he led them to the elevator. As the "elevator" moved, it began to sway to and fro until it took on the form of a skiff. When they landed on the beaches of the Underworld, Sadie and Jack simply walked through the boat. Jack chuckled. _Holoforms behave like spirits. That's good to know._ He thought with a smile as they approached the terminal.

Jack and Sadie skated through the EZ Death line and looked around the Fields of Asphodel. "I'm so glad Cybertronians go to the Well when we offline." Jack gave her an odd look. "What's so great about losing who you are to rejoin with Primus' Spark?" Jack asked. "Arcee, that doesn't sound too pleasant." Arcee shrugged. "You've been listening to Ratchet too long." She said with a smile. "The Thirteen Primes taught that the Well was more than physically joining the Core. They said the individual Sparks live on in Primus' dimension. The Well is just its gate. It's much like the Christian idea of Heaven where the departed Spark lives with Primus instead of being part of him." Jack nodded. "Those influenced by Unicron's dark blood are banished to The Pit where they are rebuilt into his Dark Harbingers, Cybertronian demons." Arcee said. "I imagine that's what happened to Zeus, his siblings, and their children." Jack's eyes widened. "Jason, Thalia, and Percy…" Jack said in worry for his friends. "…were created by Primus and have his influence but are tainted by Unicron. Remember Jack? He created both our races." She reminded the frightened teen. "'Heaven', 'Purgatory', and the 'Upper Circles'." Sadie mumbled as she looked around The Place of the Dead. "I'm starting to think Donte was a demigod." She said with a sigh. Jack just shrugged. "Let's just get down to Tartarus." He told her with a serious expression. As they approached the hole, Jack got blasted with a gust of purple "wind". As he landed on his back, Jack groaned. "Dark Energon wind…" Jack groaned as he sighed, took Sadie's hand, and jumped.

Time seemed to warp around them as the pair fell. It felt like they were falling for days, but a quick check of his chronometer back in his alt told Jack time was distorted and made seconds stretch to hours. Ratchet would have a field day with this time distortion data when they got back. _We will be back._ Jack vowed in his mind. He already had a plan for facing Unicron. It would be dangerous, and Arcee would probably offline him herself if she knew. With that said, Jack hid his plan behind a mental wall. "Jack, what are you hiding from me?" Sadie asked with a glare. "Look. Arcee, I know you won't like it, but Primus gave me renewable Energon stores for a purpose. I think that was to purge the Dark Energon from Earth and the 'gods'."

Sadie glared at him as they landed on an Obsidian glass beach. "I won't let you do this, Jack!" He sighed. "We don't have a choice, 'cee. Your job is to keep Unicron's guards off me while I purge him. Understood?" Jack asked. Arcee blinked and looked at Jack with a smirk. "I always do like a mech who can take charge." Jack whispered. "You and Optimus…" He quickly shook his head. "It's not important. Let's go!" Jack and Arcee climbed up the beach thankful for the fact their metal skin seemed to translate to the holoforms. When they came to the edge of Tartarus, neither could believe what they saw. Rivers of Dark Energon flowed to a central hub.

"Arcee," Jack called. "As soon as I put my hands in the river, monsters will come out of the woodwork." Arcee nodded. "They won't get past me." She promised. As Jack nodded, he put his hands in the purple tributary near them. As soon as his hands touched the river, burning pain shot through his limbs. Jack growled and concentrated on the Energon inside his body. Then, Jack's hands started to feel better as a field of soothing Energon insulated Jack's hands. From there, Jack ordered his body to maximize Energon production. Slowly, the pool of Energon grew out from him. Jack grew tired quickly from the strain and slowed slightly until her heard Sadie scream in pain from a sharp wound. Jack's rage made his eyes glow with blazing fury. An Energon shockwave erupted from Roadburner's body parked outside DOA Studios. The shockwave made Sadie speed up while the monsters around her started to weaken severely. "Don't mess with me Unicron…" Jack growled. "…you wouldn't like me when I'm angry!" Jack roared. The Energon around Jack spread at an incredible rate as Jack's anger threw his systems into overdrive. The Energon's effects on Tartarus were becoming more and more far reaching as time went on. Monsters in their cases started exploding like zits all over the place. "Enough!" Unicron roared as he made the ground around Jack ripple and tumble to take his hands out of the quickly healing river. "Fine by me…" Jack said as he jumped into the river and screamed as he pushed his systems even further. The glow of Energon began to brighten the unholy place and leave Unicron screaming in absolute agony.

At Omega One, Ratchet picked up the sound as it vibrated around the planet. "The boy is doing it." Ratchet said with a jovial chuckle. "Get out of my planet, you fragging slag pit!" Jack growled before Unicron's screams died. Ratchet looked over at the readings from Arcee and Roadburner and cursed. Roadburner's Spark activity was dangerously low. "Primus, no." Ratchet pleaded. As Sadie looked over at Jack, she saw his holoform flicker in and out before it vanished completely. "Don't do this to me!" Arcee growled as she called her holoform back to her body, transformed, and held Roadburner's limp chassis in her arms and pulled him close to her Spark. "First Tailgate, then Cliffjumper, I can't lose you, too." Arcee was desperate to save the mech that held her Spark, so she did something Ratchet would chew her out for later. Arcee cut her arm and let her Energon flow freely into Roadburner's chassis. When he opened his optics, Roadburner smiled and wrapped his arms around the femme. "Nice to see you again, Beautiful." Roadburner said as he tried to get up but grunted as he was knocked back down by a crushing hug.

As soon as Unicron was no more, Miko took on her Predicon form and allowed Bulkhead to get on her back. Together, Bulk and Miko found out she could make her own Spacebridge warps. Bulkhead thought it was a one-time deal so they could get to Cybertron quickly, but he didn't want to spoil Miko's happiness. When they landed, Milo took her biped mode and looked sadly at the horrors of war strewn around them. "Miko, I need to tell you something." Bulkhead said as he scratched the back of his helm in nerves as they walked to the Lock. "Go ahead, Bulk. I won't bite." Miko told the Wrecker with a giggle. "Your alt mode says different." He said with a sigh. Miko rolled her optics. "Why don't I lead?" She asked before she kissed the mech tenderly. "Wow." Bulkhead mumbled with a clouded look in his optics to which Miko giggled louder. "Bulk, you are hilarious." She told him. The Wrecker just sighed. "I think I know how to wake up Primus." He told her. "…but it's only a precise shot." Miko went back to Dragon Mode and lifted off the ground. Bulkhead guided her to the position. "Ok, Miko. Give it all you got." With a roar of effort, Miko sent down a torrent of plasma. After a few moments, there was a deafening BOOM! Then, Cybertron grew brighter as Energon refilled its dry rivers and canals. "It will take a long time to rebuild," Bulkhead told her. "Miko changed back and shrugged her massive shoulders. "We'll do it, Bulk. Don't worry."

News of Cybertron's revival spread quickly. The bots were elated, but the techno-organics were worried about the lives they had on Earth. Optimus smiled. "The Spacebridge Nexus won't be that difficult to repair with the Well active once again." He told them kindly. Miko smiled. "Let's get to work then!"

 **Please Read and Review. I realize the ending was rushed, but the story was getting to be a burden and was no longer fun to write.**


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